Contestant No. 2

       In the PBS documentary Contestant No. 2, it talks about the journey of a seventeen year old girl named Duah Fares who has a dream of making it big. The only problem is her community and religion might not be as supporting as some people may think. She is part of the Druze culture in Israel. The women have to behave in a traditional manner. They are told to marry Druzen men, have and raise Druzen children, and to make sure to behave modestly and to not step out of line. Duah enters a beauty contest called "Lady of All Arabs". This is  only for the local towns. But this is not enough for her. She decides that she is also going to enter the "Miss Israel" contest. This one would be more beneficial to Duah in her future. The winner gets a modeling contract, a new car and a world of opportunities. But with this she would face hardships with her community and religion.
         In the "Miss Israel" contest they have to have a bathing suit part of the competition and this is the hardest part for her religion to deal with. Duah feels like its part of the older generation and that the newer generation would approve. But when they interviewed some of the contestants for the "Lady of All Arabs" they said that they would not be part of that specific part of the contest. I found it weird that the younger generation would disagree with wearing a swim suite in public.
       When she was filling out the paperwork for the Miss Israel she changed her name. She felt that her name was not pretty enough and decided to changed to Angelina, like Angelina Jolie. It's funny how she would pick an American icon to be named after. But i also feel like its sad that she wouldn't feel like the name that she is given is good enough.
       After signing up for the Miss Israel, she is told that she can not be in both contests and has to decide between the two beauty contests. The only problem is if she drops out of the "Lady of All Arabs" there would be a $5,000.00 fee and does not even take that into consideration for her parents. I feel like she becomes selfish. I think she should of agreed with her father and just wait till the following year so her parents would not have to pay the fee. Unfortunately later in the video we find out that her father has been arrested for robbing places just so they could pay for the fees for the beauty contest. When Duah finds out that her father is arrested she seems like she does not care when she finds out it was for her.

       Later on things become serious for Duah and her family. Three people are arrested for threatening her life. I think it is such a shame that someone is not able to live out her dreams because of her religion.  I feel like everyone should have a say in what they want to accomplish and be able to reach for their dreams.
       By the end of the documentary Duah and her family had was told to join the Religious Community Leader for a meeting. They told her "At the end of the day this beauty pageant is temporary. It's like a good meal. Once over, you forget about it. But your people and your family will always be there."I feel like her people and family should always be there for her no matter what she wants to do or become. They should be behind and support her 100 percent.

Radioactive Wolves

        On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl's nuclear power plant suffered a meltdown where many died and many more suffered. This disaster left the area abandoned of all human kind and unfit for human habitation. But because humans are able to live in the area, does that mean that animals of different species are not able to either? The radioactive waste was able to contaminate the soil in the area allowing it also be in the plants and trees, maybe even into the bones and organs of the wildlife who has made this, what people would of thought as a desert, a wilderness.

         This area has become what scientists believe to be the home of the biggest pack of grey wolves in the world. But to make sure of this they decided to run some experiments and to also figure out if the area is safe or a harm to these wonderful animals. They are able to check the diet of the wolves by checking the radiation levels on the bones of the animals that they feed off of. They find out that it is fifty times the normal radiation level in the bones. After seeing this they decide to set a trap to catch one of the wolves so they can monitor and record its movements. Ten days later they caught a wolf. Being the top predator of Trinoble, they become a great specimen to learn about the radioactive activity. Do they migrate to this area and die here because of the radiation? Or were they born here because there were no humans to hunt them. Could it be that the conditions are better in the zone then outside it? And if the population is expanding are the radioactive wolves seeking territories outside the zone? These are only a few questions that the scientists in these areas are trying to figure out. But one of the big questions to start of with is how many wolves live in the abandoned area and where do they travel too. To find out these questions the scientists decided to place a radio collar on the trapped wolf to keep record of his movements. The wolf is named Boy, which means fight in Russian.

        Wolves use to be hunted, the alpha female in particular. This would affect the genetic health and age structure of the entire population. But the biggest enemy of the wolves in Trinoble was not the hunt but was the deforestation and drainage of the area back in the 1920's. Canals were made everywhere. Workers came to work on the new collective farms. Being able to increase food production was the biggest concern for the people of the Soviet Union. From the 1920's ti the disaster in 1986 the land was anything but a wilderness, it was apart of the Soviet Union's bread basket. Today the land outside the zone looks the same, canals and wheat fields stretching to the horizon. But inside the zone the canals and wheat fields have become forests, which have become flooded because of the beaver population. The beavers are native to the area and had a lot of obstacles with the farms but because these farms no longer exists, they are able to reappear working day and night building and repairing the dams. 

       To continue with the wolf research, another scientist decides to find a litter of wolf pups outside the zone to take some hair samples to compare to the ones inside the zone. They discover that inside the zone is actually a perfect area for them. They are able to live in the abandoned area in peace. The empty buildings also become great shelter for the packs in harsh weather. When the wolves feed on there prey, the leftovers are definitely not wasted. Other species such as the raven and the white tailed eagle feed on them as well.
        In the areas of the radioactive activity the scientists would performed a 6 year study with door mice. Four to six percent of each generation living in the contaminated area show slight abnormality. This is twice the rate of clean areas which is not acceptable for the human race. But overall the population of the door mice seemed healthy. They even realized that the density and reproduction rates are better than in the controlled areas. The scientists think, if this is happening with the door mice, maybe the results would be the same with the radioactive wolves.
         Each September one of the scientists calls out to the wolves to check their population in the area. After all the studies, they found out that the wolf population in the zone seems to be the same as in a clean area. No more, no less.
        The funny thing is, who would of ever thought that the worlds biggest nuclear disaster, would later become a unique refuge for endangered species. Finally the grey wolf can live in peace.
       

        I thought that the video was very interesting. It is absolutely amazing to me that animals would be able to live in those type of conditions. I would of thought that anything that would live or be born in that kind of area to have some type of deformity or not be able to survive. I'm glad that the scientists care that much about the species. Some people would not care as much and one day the species might become extinct, but because of all the studies they realize that the area is actually not as dangerous to the animals as they thought. The area is now a safe and peaceful place for the grey wolf breed to live.


Source - http://video.pbs.org/video/2157025070/
            - Video: Radioactive Wolves | Watch Nature Online | PBS Video

First Blog

Stonewall Uprising

       Unlike today, being gay back then was look down upon. Back in the 50's and early 60's everyone had to live a "Normal, Happy, Married life" and if you were anything less than that you were different. Being gay was look at as a form of illness or psychopathy. People were convinced that they were not born like this but made this way. Doctors would talk them into becoming straight by showing them porn and shocking them if they had any homosexual thoughts. They would even go as far as castration or lobotomy. Most homosexuals would just get married and try to live, what society thought was, a normal life. Being gay was the worst thing any one could possibly be. 

      Living in small towns, where everyone knew each other , it was very hard for some one who was gay to live their own life, without anyone else finding out. One place that they would be able to just be themselves was the village in New York City. There no one would be judged and would not have to be ashamed of who they were inside. It became their "Nirvana" or "Mecca". A place for freedom, or at least that's what they thought.

     Soon after the cops started to arrest anyone who was gay or performing any type of homosexual act in the village itself. For example, dressing in drag. They were told to "clean the streets of "weirdness"", which was targeted towards the gay community. There was a new law made that you had to wear at least three pieces of clothing of your gender and socks did not count. If you did not do this and were caught, you were then arrested. Cops would even dress up in drag as an undercover act to make their arrests.

       Stonewall Inn was a Mafia owned bar. They had no liquor licenses, and would pay off the cops so they wouldn't get in trouble. The cops would notify the mob before they would raid the bar and would do on a weekday vs. the weekend because there would hardly be anyone there. No one would ever actually drink from there. People would call it "toilet beer" and they would water the liquor down so much and charge them twice as much as they bought it for. Stonewall was just a place for everyone to feel at home and a sense of love that they could not get any where else. Everyone was welcomed. People thought that this was too good to be true.

       On June 28,1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided. The Mafia was not notified, and this time the gays were not going down without a fight. As the cops were escorting them out of the bar, they refused to show any type of identification and a crowd started to form. They started to throw pennies on the ground calling the cops copper, because that's all they were worth to them. They started to grab them and touch them, trying to make their lives miserable, laughing and joking with them. Fires broke out and chaos began. For once the Gays were winning and could see the fear in the faces of the cops. The police tried to radio in for backup, but it kept getting cut out. Finally the sound of sirens filled the air, but this did not scare the crowd. They surrounded the bar and took the cops by surprise and attacked them from all ends. Pandemonium began. The police barged in the bar and started to smash everything in sight. Outside, tires were being slashed, garbage cans were being set on fire and thrown at the police. Many in the Gay community weren't thinking of what happened in the past or what was going to happen in the future, all they were thinking about was how they were going to survive the night. What was once their safe haven had been threatened and taken away. 

     That morning, seeing the broken glass and garbage everywhere, it looked like a "reward" for the Gay community. They felt like they have done it, they stuck up for themselves. But they knew that they were gonna pay for it later. They felt like they had to do something more. Later that morning, papers were passed out all over New York City, describing what had happened the night before and that it needed to all stop. As the day went on, you can feel the tension building up in the air. 

    Stonewall re-opened that night like nothing had ever happened. Everyone started to support the Gays and what they were standing for. Gays that had everything to loose, a great job, a home, a family, came out to also support. Black-Panthers, Anti-War groups, everyone for once were coming together as one to help put an end to this madness. Cops came again that Saturday night and they were ready for more. It was even worse then the first night. People were getting leg wounds, back wounds, head wounds, even killed. But the chaos continued and even continued into the following night. 

      People like to call this act the Stonewall Uprising versus the Stonewall Riots because this was a time that the Gay community upraised and tried to make a changed for themselves. Later that year they had a protest march that changed the direction of the gay movement. Walking down the streets of New York City there were thousands of others standing in what they believed in and showing their pride in themselves. This would turn into the annual New York City Gay Pride Parade. For once in their lives they felt as Americans, they felt as equals.


     I thought that the video was very interesting. It made me see the troubles and hardships that the Gay community really had to go through to get the equality that they have today. I also learned a lot about what actually happened. I knew about the Stonewall riots but never actually knew the details and the history behind it. It was very upsetting to me to see people be separated and judged, just like how the African Americans were treated by the color of their skin, Gays were by their sexual preference. Trying to make them become like everyone else and not just accepting the fact that everyone is a little different. I believe that everyone should be treated the same, no matter how different they may seem.


Source : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/player/
Stonewall Uprising. American Experience. WGBH  |  PBS