Politics

We Are Shadows of Tender Fury

March 6, 2012 by Corey 25 Comments

How can there be peace when the people who cause war still clamor for the perpetuation of our misery? The arrogance that lives in the government palaces and the houses of the lords of land and big business is still screaming for war and death for our race; they won’t tolerate the idea that indigenous blood is equal to white. We seek an entrance into the nation and they refuse us. Now they mock the march of our dead by flinging contemptuous coins at their feet…

We are shadows of tender fury; our dark wings will cover the sky again, and their protective cloak will shelter the dispossessed and the good men and women who understand that justice and peace go hand in hand. If they deny us our rights, then our tender fury will enter those fine mansions. There will be no fence our shadow will not jump over; no door will be left unopened, no window left unbroke, no wall left standing. Our shadow will bring pain to those who call for war and death for our race; more tears and blood will flow before peace can sit down at our table with goodwill.

-Communique from the CCRI-CG of the EZLN, Mexico, March 15, 1994

completed dove tattoo

My friend Bonnie got the above tattoo on Sunday morning. It was done by a wonderful tattoo artist named Sean, who tattoos as “Charlie” at Lola’s Tattoos, in Bogata, NJ, and was based on a drawing by Daisy, my partner, a talented artist when she wants to be.

Watching a tattoo artist that knows their stuff is pretty darn cool. First, the stencil is applied:

dove tattoo stencil

Then the words are inked. Sean did not have to repeat a single stroke…every line of every letter was done exactly once.

Tattoo in progress

Once the wording was done, Sean outlined the bird:

dove tattoo outline completed

Once the outlining was done he went back and shaded and highlighted the bird, resulting in this:

finished dove tattoo

And the next picture is just to show off the capabilities of my macro lens:

macro dove tattoo

So if you want a tattoo of a bird, or anything else, head on over to Lola’s Tattoos and ask for Charlie…

completed dove tattoo

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This post was originally published on 19 June 2007. We hate to keep posts this good buried in the archives!

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.