If you live on Twitter/X (or any of the social media platforms), you will likely have heard the story of Peanut the Squirrel. 

Peanut has been a social media celebrity for seven years. An animal rescue nonprofit was built around him, saving hundreds of animals, from rodents to horses, from abuse, neglect, or simply bad luck. His story and his antics charmed millions of people, and helped people escape from the grittier and nastier realities of living in an unforgiving world. 

🇺🇸 PEANUT THE SQUIRREL ARRESTED IN NYC!?

New York wildlife officers raided Mark Longo's home, seizing his rescue squirrel Peanut after complaints about "unsafe squirrel housing" and "wildlife gone wild" hit the department.

Peanut is an internet sensation known for donning… pic.twitter.com/HEPB6VKuYC

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 1, 2024

Until the New York government decided to raid his home and kill him. They executed a search warrant, trashed a home, seized him and his buddy Fred the Raccoon, and executed them next. 

But without tyrannical government, who would send a multitude of officers to your animal rescue to protect you by confiscating and euthanizing your famous pet squirrel Peanut? pic.twitter.com/2vdVL6TpI9

— Truthstream Media (@truthstreamnews) November 1, 2024

In the midst of the decisive election campaign of our lifetimes, why talk about Peanut the Squirrel? Aren't there more important issues like the polls, turnout, shenanigans, and all the day's news?

How can we be living in this country? Encampments and rampant illegal drug use, defecating on the streets but ‘the state’ has the focus and the will to do this? #peanut https://t.co/sW20aeU027

— 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝 (@donaldbarnat) November 2, 2024

Yes, all those things matter. But the story of Peanut matters because it is a microcosm of what we are facing. A nameless, faceless, and merciless bureaucracy with no sense of proportion or empathy can, at a whim, upend people's lives over what amounts to nothing. It can seize a beloved family pet, the mascot of an organization that does enormous good, just because some nanny-stater decides they don't approve. 

AMAZING pic.twitter.com/0MAc914JLi

— Ingenuous Firebrand 🐆🇺🇸 (@ING2Firebrand) November 2, 2024

Peanut and Fred died over paperwork. 

Breaking - Peanut the social media star has been euthanized, along with his companion raccoon. It’s a devastating blow to Peanut’s Freedom Farm, a nonprofit that has rescued more than 300 animals from abusive situations in just one year. The Department of Environmental… pic.twitter.com/COyp5MO3fF

— Paul Mueller (@RealPaulMueller) November 1, 2024

The streets of New York City are filled with criminals and migrants, billions are spent on hotel rooms for illegals, drugs are ravaging our communities, and lawlessness is spreading in ways that degrade our civilization. Those are big problems that are difficult to deal with, so the government turns its Sauron eye to Peanut because it can overwhelm the little guy with no problem. 

Improving people's lives is hard. Killing a squirrel is easy. 

Why does the Peanut the Squirrel story matter? It demonstrates the reality of government. Petty bureaucrats can, at a whim, terrorize people. Nobody was being hurt, good things were being done, but some petty rule was broken. They mobilized goons and destroyed something good. https://t.co/uT8cIaU9Qd

— David Strom (@DavidStrom) November 2, 2024

We all get overwhelmed by the enormous challenges we face, but we can all understand the story of a squirrel. In our guts, we know what happened is wrong--what we need to understand is that this is how government works as often as not. The ostensible reason behind the raid and 5-hour squirrel (and raccoon) hunt in a man's home is that Peanut could have rabies, and rabies control is a government function. 

Here’s Chief of Staff @ERRingewald, NY DEC Chief of Staff who holds a masters in creative writing, is from Chicago, and has “abortion rights are human rights” in her bio. Erica thoroughly enjoys murdering pet squirrels pic.twitter.com/KT6CpR10Yg

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) November 2, 2024

It is the government's function to reduce the incidence of rabies (which is, thankfully, now extremely rare in America), but killing Peanut and Fred didn't help it perform that function. Not just because they didn't have rabies at the time, but because, as basically indoor animals, they never would be exposed to it. 

Peanut and Fred were beautiful creatures. The New York government decided that they needed to be put down to check if they had rabies.

They did not have rabies. pic.twitter.com/dBoCYIARe7

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 2, 2024

Fighting rabies in the wild is hard, and it is MUCH easier to euthanize a squirrel that lives indoors and could not possibly have rabies. Eight government employees can waste a day ransacking a man's house, kill a squirrel, and call it a day without having to do anything that actually makes the public safer. Win!

"For Peanut." https://t.co/N66s4Bdu6f pic.twitter.com/h8qzlGumNL

— Vagrant of Rhodes 🗡️🕯️ (@vagrantwires) November 2, 2024

Peanut's fate is not a niche issue. His story has made it into the New York Times, CNN, USA Today, and news outlets worldwide. 

Election map if Trump promises tomorrow to avenge Peanut the Squirrel. 🐿️ #Peanut pic.twitter.com/tOXLYEyA8Q

— Dan G. (@dg_chicago) November 2, 2024

This makes his death a teachable moment. You may not have heard of Peanut, but millions of people have and have had a visceral reaction to the casual cruelty of the New York government. 

This is insanity... The man had a squirrel for a pet. And he was raided, without a warrant. & His beloved Peanut was seized.
These officers had nothing better to do? People complained over an indoor squirrel.
The insanity is palpable.#Peanuthttps://t.co/J2AjLvbbcg

— Heckler Pix (@ohheckorama) November 1, 2024

Peanut was just featured a few months ago in an account I often use in Sunday Smiles. It was a feel-good story and now a feel-bad story. It's a feel-bad story that tells you how casually tyrannical government can be. We need the government to exercise power to keep social order from collapsing, not to enforce meaningless diktats that shouldn't apply. Sure, keeping squirrels as pets is a bad idea, but this particular squirrel in this particular circumstance, was helping, not harming society. 

This is why a lot of people have picked up on this story and linked it to the campaign. It is just another example of government bureaucrats out of control.

"How did you get radicalized, Billy?"

Billy: " I watched the state murdered an adorable pet squirrel because of psychotic bureaucrats having too much power".

— Dissident West (@dissidentwest) November 2, 2024

Small stories often teach big lessons. Big stories often don't, because they are too big and too complicated to get your head around. 

Peanut the squirrel was murdered by the government! #justiceforpeanut #peanut pic.twitter.com/UBQMKD7xPF

— Add Your Name (@youmadyeahhemad) November 2, 2024

You might be surprised to see how many people online are furious about this and how many have linked the death of Peanut to government tyranny. It's a small thing in a world with 8 billion people, wars raging, and an open border threatening our sovereignty. 

New York seized and destroyed the beloved #Peanut. Peanut was a rescue squirrel and the mascot for a non-profit animal rescue.
This is why we vote. pic.twitter.com/9xr7ndGe5k

— JereMemez (@Jere_Memez) November 2, 2024

But it is also a big thing because in a world with all those crises, some jerk bureaucrats decided that this was the most important thing they had to do and mobilized enormous resources to kill a squirrel for no good reason. It was an easy thing for them. With the swipe of a pen they could upend a family, destroy a nonprofit, and bring a bit more sadness into the world. 

💥💥KAMALA IN HER OWN WORDS💥💥THAT WITH THE SWIPE OF MY PEN I COULD CHARGE SOMEONE WITH THE LOWEST LEVEL OFFENSE, AND BECAUSE OF THE SWIPE OF MY PEN, THAT PERSON COULD BE ARRESTED, THEY COULD SIT IN JAIL FOR AT LEAST 48 HOURS, THEY COULD LOSE TIME FROM WORK AND THEIR FAMILY… pic.twitter.com/Cbmoc2qIcS

— 5DME81 (@5dme81) August 19, 2024

Imagine, if you will, a neighbor complaining that your indoor dog or cat hadn't had a rabies shot, and eight government officials storm into your home, take them away, and euthanize them. Technically, they are in the right, but it would still be an insane overreaction. A dog or cat who never goes outside will not get rabies miraculously, and there are much better things for those government officials to do. They have the power and authority, but they did this because going after actual dangers is harder. 

Took years for law enforcement to raid Diddy, even longer for Epstein and Maxwell, and they still haven’t made any client arrests yet.

Meanwhile, they hit Peanut’s place without a warrant, arrested him, and he’s “Epsteined” within 48 hours?

Vote Trump. pic.twitter.com/KEtOzQqVoT

— ZNO 🇺🇸 (@therealZNO) November 2, 2024

It's like organizing a manhunt for a jaywalker or executing a search warrant for tearing the tag off the mattress. Going after dangerous criminals is hard; instead, go after the low hanging fruit of good people who won't resist. 

Is it any wonder that people are tying this to Trump?

Not to me. This is an easily understood example of why government needs to be run by and for ordinary people, not those marinated in the use of power for its own sake.