It’s an old southern joke. I probably heard it for the first time from my old southern grandfather when I was just barely old enough to understand what made it an off-color joke.
“Do you know why an old hound dog will lie in the sun licking his —”
I’m pretty sure that he didn’t say it this way, but let’s say “licking himself?”
The answer, of course, is “because he can!”
The owners of #Peanut the squirrel are going nuclear on government officials in New York, accusing the state of abusing power and wasting taxpayer funds to seize and kill their pet. Watch their full interview on @TMZLive here: https://t.co/1rXzVTABx1 pic.twitter.com/rtHpBOl14x
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 1, 2024
So a recent kerfuffle on X was when, on a complaint from a single internet AWFL, New York State wildlife officials sent ten armed wildlife officials — and as an aside, since when can game wardens do SWAT-style raids? — to spend twelve hours searching a family home, damaging the home, holding the owners incommunicado without allowing them to contact an attorney, interrogating the wife over her immigration status, and euthanizing the family’s two rescue animals “to examine them for rabies”.
(A moment of silence for Fred the raccoon and P’nut the squirrel.)
Of course, if the family had tried to resist this, they’d have been shot.
The first question asked on X was “why did they do this?” And the answer is “because they can.” They have the Eric Cartman arrogance: respect my authoritah!. And they know there almost certainly won’t be any real consequences.
The family can, and almost certainly will, file a lawsuit. It turns out that Fred and P’nut were social media stars, the faces of an animal rescue that brought revenue for maintaining the other rescued animals, so the amount of money might be significant because of lost revenue. Assuming that the suits aren’t dismissed over qualified immunity — how would a bunch of game wardens know that the Constitution protects mere citizens when there’s an illegal squirrel to be captured and killed? — then the settlement won’t come out of their pockets. It’ll be paid by their employers — the state, and eventually by the taxpayers.
And on X, a member of a famous conservative family says she refuses to be interested in a squirrel.
OK, just for future reference: if you don’t care that the government forced their way into someone’s house and killed their pet, you’re part of the problem.
— (((Charlie Martin))) (@chasrmartin) November 2, 2024
Of course, the issue isn’t just the squirrel. It’s the overbearing, unthinking arrogance of minor functionaries and their willingness to stomp on the mere citizens.
Because they can.
It turned out this incident got lots of publicity, so there may actually be some consequences. The complaining AWFL has apparently been identified and internet outrage applied. The boss has deleted her X account.
The head of squirrel execution in NY has deleted her X account. Tough cop huh? pic.twitter.com/PQbihEMmCB
— Sean Tannehill (@saltybollz) November 2, 2024
And notice the picture: she’s the functionary in charge of the game wardens. There she is in her military-style uniform, complete with Sam Browne belt. Is there a better indication of an aspiring fascist than a bureaucrat with a uniform and a Sam Browne belt?
Of course, the point is not Fred and P’nut, as sad and outrageous as this episode is. The point is that, as Thomas Sowell said, “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
