In the middle of the national upheaval from the death of George Floyd some people have used a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. to explain the rioting: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” That is true but it is only half of the story. Unless we recognize the other half we will miss much of what is going on and we will be less able to address it.

A picture is often worth a thousand words. In this instance we have the picture of a white man with his knee on the neck of a dead black man. (Officer Chauvin waited long enough for the video to include a dead man). It is a picture with a history and is deeply rooted in our cultural memory. Two such pictures are included above, one with a Mayan king and one an Assyrian king, each standing on their vanquished enemy. Here is the description of another such picture from the Bible: “And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, ‘Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings.’ Then they came near, and put their feet on their necks.” (Joshua 10:24)

This is a very powerful image of conquest and subjugation, of dominance and supremacy, not just of one king over another king but also of one people over another people. The video from Minneapolis portrays an extremely powerful image of white supremacy, as strong as any lynching, one that is older and deeper and broader. It functions in the same way as an ISIS beheading, or a Roman crucifixion. The image itself inspires terror. Some of the demonstrators have recognized this even they they have falsely accuse the police in general of this terrorism.

The riots are not simply the result of the unheard cries of the rioters. The violence is more than a release of pent up frustrations; it is more than a response to repeated injustices. The image of a white man with his knee on the neck of a dead black man has been broadcast repeatedly. That white supremacist image must not be allowed to dominate the imaginations of our nation. It can’t be erased by charges and arrests. It can’t be painted over with slogans and chants. It can’t be dissolved by demonstrations and marches.

It must be countered with another powerful image. And the quickest powerful image to counter it with is fire, a fire that burns it itself into the minds of arsonist and TV viewer alike. Our cities are ablaze each night and for now that image is, however negatively, countering an image of white supremacy.

Finding images that are better than fire will take time. And the only way to find the images is to do the long, hard work of healing racism.

6/1 — Here’s an addition. A frame from a photograph by Xena Goldman which was posted by Barack Obama, offered as a small counter-image.