I would rather look at Richard Petty Racing’s new paint scheme rather than Ray Ciccarelli’s face, so here it is.
Sometimes people are so wrong, it gets funny. Then there are times when the level of wrong goes beyond funny to reach a level of horrific sadness. And then there is NASCAR trucks driver Ray Ciccarelli.
NASCAR has used the recent racial protests and tumult to finally ban the confederate flag, and Ciccarelli does not like it.
“Well, it’s been a fun ride and dream come true but if this is the direction NASCAR is headed, we will not participate after 2020 season is over,” Ciccarelli posted on Facebook, “I don’t believe in kneeling during Anthem nor taken ppl right to fly what ever flag they love. I could care less about the Confederate Flag, but there are ppl that do and it doesn’t make them a racist all you are doing is (expletive) one group to cater to another and i ain’t spend the money we are to participate in any political BS!! So everything is for SALE!!”
Oof! There are people who refuse to listen to others and migrate from a corrupt philosophy toward enlightenment, and then there is Ciccarelli. Black lives clearly do not matter much to Ciccarelli.
There are those who refuse to move from the wrong side of history, and then there there is Ciccarelli, who has dug a hole on the wrong side of history and buried himself in it.
What Ciccarelli doesn’t realize is he is actually acting as an agent for the Black Lives Matter movement by serving as an anachronistic irritant – an example of the idiocy that has perpetuated racism in America for nearly 400 years. Even racists look at Ciccarelli and say, “Wow. That’s going too far.”
But don’t hate the man because of his message of ignorance. Let’s continue to try to help racists like Ciccarelli see the wisdom of listening and adjusting rather than pummel them into hiding. In plain sight, they can be helped. If they retreat into the shadows to commiserate with the likeminded, they will be much harder to find.
NASCAR will not miss Ciccarelli as a driver. He’s run 18 truck races over the past three years with one top 10 finish. As a man, this is addition by subtraction.