The other day we told you about how Shellyne Rodriguez got violent with students on campus for their pro-life display and then how she drew a machete on reporters for allegedly doing nothing more than knocking on her door to ask her about that first incident. Finally, we told you how Hunter College basically told her not to come back to work.
Well, there have been developments:
NYC visual arts school reviewing college professor Shellyne Rodriguez’s employment https://t.co/4FtfAdsXfJ pic.twitter.com/kKQwoWu5YX
— New York Post (@nypost) May 24, 2023
Fired NYC professor Shellyne Rodriguez says she’s the victim after machete threat https://t.co/2emw6FK5Fu pic.twitter.com/qgQAo60QZH
— New York Post (@nypost) May 24, 2023
NYC professor Shellyne Rodriguez turns herself in to cops after threatening Post reporter with machete https://t.co/bc9mkEuQcG pic.twitter.com/svdykJSe6a
— New York Post (@nypost) May 25, 2023
From that last piece:
The manic Manhattan arts professor who held a machete to a Post reporter’s neck and threatened to ‘chop’ him up surrendered to cops Thursday — with her ‘FTP,’ or ‘f–k the police,’ tattoo on full display.
We are sure the police would enjoy that. More from the article:
Rodriguez’s surrender comes after cops started probing Tuesday’s shocking chain of events, which unfolded when the veteran Post reporter door knocked her apartment to ask her about viral footage of her cursing out Hunter College pro-life students.
‘Get the f–k away from my door, or I’m gonna chop you up with this machete,’ the unhinged professor screamed before barging out with the blade.
After the reporter and a photographer quickly exited the apartment building, dashcam video showed Rodriguez — still armed with the machete — chasing them down the street.’If I see you on this block one more f–king time, you’re gonna …,’ Rodriguez said.
‘Get the f–k off the block! Get the f–k out of here, yo!’
She then kicked the reporter in his shins before retreating back into her building.
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Still, the article gives us the impression that this is an investigation in progress, so we don’t expect them to detain them.
As for the article about the School of Visual Arts, we had learned after our article on Hunter College that she taught there, but, apparently, she might not be teaching there much longer:
‘SVA is aware of the incidents involving one of our faculty members, Shellyne Rodriguez, who is not currently teaching any courses at the College,’ a spokesperson for the private school told The Post on Wednesday.
‘We are assessing to determine any potential next steps.[‘]
So unlike Hunter College, she wasn’t expected on campus, anyway. We suspect in both cases she was told to stay away. As for the claim she was a victim in all of this, the New York Post is mainly relying on this story:
On Tuesday evening, Hunter College fired artist Shellyne Rodriguez after video circulated online showing an incident in which she confronted a group called Students for Life of America on the school’s campus on May 2. https://t.co/5EPu5NCGjQ
— ARTnews (@artnews) May 24, 2023
From the article, she discusses her view of the incident with the students:
In a statement sent to ARTnews, Rodriguez said that the May 2 incident had involved the ‘use of profanity’ and the ‘tossing [of] the postcards and the metal container of rubber fetuses’ that the students had at the table. …
Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez said Hunter College administration had asked her ‘to issue an apology … which I did,’ adding in her statement, ‘Yet before the process could be completed, on May 19th, Students for Life circulated a manipulated video of the incident on social media and mobilized their members and supporters to attack me. For the past two weeks, I have been inundated with vile and hateful emails, texts, and voicemails nonstop.’
And as for the machete incident?
A spokesperson for Rodriguez said that Fenton and the cameraperson did not identify themselves and ‘did not use the intercom to gain access, and appear to have been trespassing inside the building when they pounded on her door and started yelling at her through the door.’
First, is it trespass if they ask another tenant to let them in and that person did (which in our experience, happens all the time with these kinds of set ups)? We doubt it. Second, even if they were loud, that doesn’t justify what she did.
Rodriguez’s statement did not directly address the incident with Fenton, though she did say that the entire situation had ‘taken a toll on my mental health, robbing me of my sense of safety, and creating reasonable fear that they would show up at my home to cause me physical harm, as has happened with so many other women who have similarly had their personal info exposed as a form of politically motivated harassment.’ …
In her statement, Rodriguez wrote, ‘As much as this incident has stakes for my life, it is ultimately just one part of a broader political struggle taking place across the country. Right wing media organizations are weaponizing and sensationalizing this case to further their agenda, and using me as a prism through which to project their attacks on women, trans people, black people, Latinx people, migrants, and beyond.’
And she also got support from an art gallery:
‘Now I feel like nothing has changed and, in fact, the strategies of these organizations have gotten more sophisticated,’ [Wendy Olsoff, a cofounder of P.P.O.W, the New York gallery that represents Rodriguez] said in a statement to ARTnews. ‘Now all organizations, like the AFA, have to do is manipulate an iPhone video and characterize Rodriguez as an insane gay black woman professor. With the click of a button, their hateful message of fear, violence, racism, sexism, and homophobia can be sent across the country and the world—meant to target people of color, the LGBTQAI+, women’s rights and anyone who doesn’t fall in line with their agenda.’
It is unfathomable that anyone in the art world would defend this conduct. That world thrives on freedom of expression. The right to freedom of expression is the right to express yourself without the fear of violence—be it state violence or private violence. She has repeatedly breached that right and should be shunned by anyone who makes a living expressing him or herself. She is frankly only different in degree from the lunatic who stabbed Salman Rushdie.
Further, there is no evidence that the machete video was manipulated, and the only alteration to the video of her attacking the pro-life display was to place speech bubbles in it as a clever way to caption the video for deaf and hard of hearing people. That is praiseworthy, not suspicious.
You grab a machete and chase ONE newspaper reporter down the street, and the racists come out of the woodwork https://t.co/cGBnsOVwsL via @artnews
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) May 24, 2023
"RAYCISS WHITE NASHONALISS MYSOGINISS!"
What fresh charges.
— Dr. Sleve McDichael (veruhfied in 2016) (@SeahawkBurrrton) May 24, 2023
As any one could expect crazy #ShellyneRodriguez unable to accept personal responsibility dangerous violent conduct defaults to lame pathetic #racism, #sexism allegations. Ignorant.
— Ellison (@goldstrumellis) May 25, 2023
If I shared the same profession as this lunatic.. I wouldn't be promoting her opinions or voice in any way
To verbally attack students w different views then physically attack a reporter. YET STILL believe she is the victim
Un..fkng real #LiberalismIsAMentalDisorder— D-Mo (@DannyMo04) May 24, 2023
That machete is illegal in NYC. If an individual possesses a machete with the intent to use it unlawfully against another individual, that individual will be guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
— Tired of being politically correct (@USBornNRaised) May 25, 2023
She threatened someone with a deadly weapon,That’s aggravated assault in all 50 states
— Jim Satala (@JimSatala) May 25, 2023
Is NYC. Don't expect justice.
— Donna Patriot Ancestor (@DonnaAncestor) May 25, 2023
It's NYC, hence why she "turned" herself in. Why didn't the police beat down her door looking for the ilegal machete??
— Lusinski (@LusinskiS) May 25, 2023
This is like when my dog "turns himself in" for taking one of my shoes. He brings it over, drops it in front of me, and wags his tail because he knows he's not really in trouble and he already got the attention he wanted.
— GT (@GT_Blue18) May 25, 2023
This college professor called handing out pro-life pamphlets “violence”, then uses a machete for real violence. 🤡 https://t.co/g0xo2Qnb4a
— 🇺🇸 Just Some Lady 🤷♀️ (@JustSomeLady_) May 25, 2023
As on Tweeter once said:
Speech from the right = Violence
Violence from the left = Speech— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) June 1, 2017
But to be fair, we have it on good information that he is from the evil mirror universe, so take that with a grain of salt.
Hey @ProjectLincoln who are the violent authoritarians again? https://t.co/3HtPHN6L8b
— Mike G (@Bluesybarracuda) May 25, 2023
I'm sure she was out before the story was released
— Vinny (@FLVinny) May 25, 2023
Thanks to BLM, these people think they can do anything they want.
— 🧜🏼Gringo De Ciales🇵🇷 (@HabaDeCiales) May 25, 2023
We’re not sure they are wrong.
In any case, we will keep an eye on this story as it develops.
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