This story outraged me. Not going to lie. This one really got me mad. The State of New York just killed this guy’s pet squirrel. It had been rescued after its mother had been hit by a car. So, dude raised “Peanut” the squirrel. Hand fed it. The whole nine yards. Well, the almighty state of New York and big brother just killed Peanut. Oh! And they also ‘put down’ a pet racoon. It is infuriating. I’m find myself getting angry just thinking about out it. Why do you suppose that is? Why is the death of a small animal a bridge too far? I’ll tell you exactly why. The reason Springfield resonated. The reason Peanut the Squirrel is getting such reaction.

Let’s take a look at the story really quick though.

Even Trump put out a statement about Peanut.

Why is killing a rescued squirrel a bridge too far? It’s the same reason people were mad about Springfield. Call it the John Wick effect. They killed his dog, and he went off the rails. It’s about the death of an innocent creature. Killing something innocent and good for no reason other than you want to. It’s horrifying. Some people can do it with such ease. And when it’s the Government killing something innocent for what appears to be no good reason, that hits on a deeper level. It’s about the squirrel but it’s not about the squirrel. It’s about people coming into your home and killing something that did no harm, just because they want to. Fuck them and fuck that.

Now for all the people who want to talk about cows and why we kill them? Food. We can justify that one. But when someone kills a kitten or a puppy? Fuck you and everything you stand for. That was an innocent creature.

And for all the people who wonder why this squirrel resonates more than the death of human being? My theory is this: We rationalize. We put ourselves in the victims’ shoes and our brains fire up the bullshit machine. We think about what we would have done different. What the people around could have done. It’s a total coping mechanism. We start to think about all the different variables and that kind of BS. “what was she doing? Waiting for the bus that late at night?” That kind of crap. Then some douchebag comes out with a podcast about it. It’s outrageous and completely messed up.

The death of innocent people is bad enough. We should be angry about all of those total tragedies. There’s no emotional wiggle room with the killing of a squirrel. It was 100% innocent. Completely blameless. We can’t rationalize or question the sequence of events. It was an innocent creature. Murdered for no good reason. And murdered by people we pay to protect us! That’s wild to think about. If they murder a creature like this? What are they prepared to do to you?!

And lastly, squirrels are adorable. He even had a little hat. Come on. And let’s not forget the racoon. They killed that poor guy too.

Yup. I’m feeling it. The John Wick effect. Big time.