ARCADIAN RHYTHM

“ The oppressed stood tall under the pressure of tyrants, but not without casualty. The Guillotine is raised higher with each transgression.” -Hamuel, Stanza 4 • “It cried from the Heavens. Silent, glimmering. There was a brief moment of strange beauty, no more than a moment, but suddenly - Hellfire. — The Wicked reigns while the crows coalesce into a murder. Her soft gaze, now glass. The ruins of a civilization seed the garden of Arcadia, but at what cost?” Arc of Hamuel; Book II, Verse 2; ident 8 Precursor to WAR MACHINE ——— The military is invading the city that I live in as I type this, and I don’t know how to do anything about it but write and make art. I know change is supposed to come from revolution and revolutionaries but when I think back on this time, I want to have marked this strange and violent moment in history on canvas (digital or otherwise.) We all have different roles to play in the fight. This current fight being the invasion and occupation of American cities by its OWN armed forces. The federal government has been using new (and recent) legal rulings to terrorize people of color, to sew chaos and to further the political agendas of fools. At this very moment, violent actions are being taken against the citizens of Chicago; against the will of our city and state representatives, and CLEARLY against the will of the people. This gross, and vicious negligence of the needs of the community are not only unjust, but Unconstitutional (as though that ever mattered when those in power want to exert their will upon the citizenry.) To me, if we’re not speaking systematically, where marginalized groups have been fighting for space and parity for decades; this began in LA. When the national guard was called to the west coast to “protect the people” (create discord and confusion in a blue state.) That was the test for what we’re seeing happen in the Midwest and what we’ll continue to see across the board in major cities if this continues. I’m seeing my friends arrested, other deported. I’m seeing families in my community broken up. I’m seeing my friends and loved ones afraid to go out because they have brown skin or speak Spanish. It’s disgusting and I feel helpless. So I create. According to the American Immigration Council, The Supreme Court’s latest ruling clears the way for racial profiling during these immigration raids. “In a 6-3 vote in the case known as Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, the Supreme Court granted an emergency request from the Trump administration and temporarily halted a LA judge’s order that barred “roving patrols” from snatching people off California streets and questioning them based on how they look, what language they speak, what work they do, or even where they happen to be. Both a Los Angeles federal court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that these actions amounted to illegal racial profiling. On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a brief, unsigned order that overturns those decisions. This gives immigration agents a “green light” to once again stop anyone they guess to be here illegally—even if a central reason for the stop was race.” -American Immigration Council. Here’s the not-so-picturesque scene I’ll paint for you, happening in near-realtime: -FBI + Border patrol raiding entire apartment complexes in the South Shore neighborhood without warrants - Children and the elderly (American citizens) ziptied together and detained for hours with no information given -ICE & CPD working in tandem -ICE & CPD working in opposition -The President federalizing and ordering the Texas National Guard to deploy in the streets of Chicago -American journalists detained while peacefully protesting -Violence perpetrated against the people, recorded daily and shared on personal social media accounts -Pepper balls shot at journalists by ICE and Border Patrol agents -Bear Mace sprayed openly by armed agents into peaceful crowds for maximum AoE. -Less-Lethal rounds pointed and shot at unarmed citizens for crowd control. THIS IS WRONG. THIS IS UNJUST. WE MUST SPEAK OUT. WE MUST RESIST. FUCK ICE. FUCK THE BORDER PATROL. FUCK THIS RACIST ADMINISTRATION. RESIST THEM. OUR COMMUNITIES ARE STRONGER TOGETHER AND WE ARE AWAKE. MOBILIZE AND PROTECT THE PEOPLE. SHARE MUTUAL AID WHEN POSSIBLE. VOLUNTEER. FILM EVERYTHING. WARN EVERYONE. TO THE PEOPLE: YOU HAVE POWER. WE HAVE POWER. STAY SAFE; STAY DANGEROUS. -Sean Williams. ARCADIAN RHYTHM (2025) digital, Procreate, 4320 x 5760, 18.8mb c. Sean Williams, 2025-3033, ART ONLY.