The death of Peanut the famous squirrel elicited responses from across cyberspace, some less expected than others.
Peanut first captured the internet’s attention in 2023 when a TikTok video of him stealing food from a backyard bird feeder went viral. Since then, the rodent has amassed half a million followers on Instagram and TikTok.
He was found on a busy New York City road by Mark Longo. Longo took it upon himself to raise and rehabilitate Peanut for release back into the wild. This, of course, did not work out, and Peanut ended up as a house squirrel for the next seven years.
All was fine and dandy until reports were filed to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) about Longo illegally housing Peanut in January. That investigation culminated on Oct. 30 with the seizure and subsequent euthanasia of Peanut and Longo’s other pet, Fred the raccoon.
That seems awfully straightforward and pretty cut-and-dry, for sure, but the raid of Longo’s pets sparked immense controversy.
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance were most notably shocked by the situation.
At a rally on Nov. 4, Vance relayed how “fired up” Trump was about Peanut. He quoted Trump as saying, “You know, is it really the case that the Democrats murdered the Elon Musk of squirrels?”
What that means exactly, no one’s sure, but Vance made the argument that because the government doesn’t care about illegal immigrants entering the country, they shouldn’t care about a squirrel.
Peanut has since devolved into a far-right talking point about policy on undocumented immigrants.
Why? Who knows. Don’t take this the wrong way because it’s not that Peanut didn’t matter, but don’t you guys have something better to be doing?
Apparently, we stooped so low as to even try and compare an illegally housed squirrel to actual human beings trying to enter our country.
Similarly, Maria Zakharova, director of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s press department, posted to Telegram on Thursday that “It’s somewhat reminiscent of the entire American foreign policy.”
Last but not least, Elon Musk and Joe Rogan discussed on Rogan’s podcast a slightly different interpretation of the situation. Instead of making the aforementioned foreign policy comparison, Musk argued that America couldn’t possibly be the land of the free when the government can barge into your home and take your pets.
He’ll be pleased to know that four officials and a judge signed off on the warrant that allowed the NYSDEC to “barge” into Longo’s home.
Musk would also later make this post, implying Peanut was a sacrifice for Donald Trump to win the election.
What all this tells us is there’s been a change in our cultural landscape. Social media has not only become an increasingly accepted part of our mores, but also one that drives important aspects of our society.
Social media has been a large part of politics for quite some time, but now it feels more like a driving force. Updates on a popular Instagram squirrel account made it to the eyes of the president of the United States.
In no timeline should everyday happenings be so effective on crucial members of society. Our minds are not built to recognize the hundreds of events that happen daily, let alone form a critical opinion on them.
That’s why X has been littered with the occasional AI-generated image of a squirrel in a MAGA hat. Not because Trump and Vance hammered in the Peanut metaphor, but because the regular person runs with these fleeting ideas since the internet is so overwhelming.
As our social media identities have become just as important as the ones we maintain in real life, the line becomes blurred. Who we are online is no longer separated from who we are on a daily basis.
What is there to say aside from walking away? Removing yourself from the endless spew of entertainment, clickbait and political content online is nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes it’s the best option.
