Joyce Carol Oates compares giraffe killing to Nazi slaughter

Yes, the Copenhagen zoo had "reasons" for euthanizing the animal, the author tweeted, and "so did Nazi doctors"

Published February 11, 2014 6:02PM (EST)

Joyce Carol Oates      (Slowking/WikimediaCommons)
Joyce Carol Oates (Slowking/WikimediaCommons)

OK, so we're all a little upset about the Copenhagen Zoo's decision to kill a 2-year-old giraffe and feed it to lions. Especially because they did so in front of children, and there's a graphic  video of the whole thing, and giraffes are kind of amazing.

But author Joyce Carol Oates took her dismay way too far, turning to Twitter to compare the euthanasia -- which the zoo officials, to their credit, did under the guidance of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria -- to the Holocaust:

[embedtweet id="433248848178204672"]

Because killing a giraffe to prevent inbreeding, according to Oates, is the same as Nazi doctors performing medical experiments on prisoners.

This is only the latest in what's been a spree of incomprehensible/offensive tweets from Oates, who just a few days ago called Woody Allen's detractors hypocrites because they also probably like the fictional novel "Lolita":

[embedtweet id="432162254406955008"]

Officials at the Copenhagen Zoo, meanwhile, report that they've been receiving death threats, with one email saying: "The children of the staff of Copenhagen zoo should all be killed or should get cancer." It might be time to deescalate (guilty as charged) -- to that effect, this blog post from Kimberly Moynahan is worth checking out for its more sobered interpretation of the zoo's "scandal."


By Lindsay Abrams

MORE FROM Lindsay Abrams


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Joyce Carol Oates Nazis Twitter Wildlife Zoos