Leftist liberals are incredibly sensitive to any form of racism, injustice, or inequality in the world around them. Their lecturing about oppression and wokeness knows no bounds. However, little do they realize that their own minds are deeply infused with hatred and privilege, and they often fail to see the hypocrisy in their own actions. In a recent turn of events, a self-proclaimed activist and professor met her downfall when her nasty behavior was once again exposed to the public.
Shellyne Rodriguez, a 47-year-old art professor, was recently fired from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an elite private school in Manhattan. In an email to students, she claimed that she was fired because of a social media post she made about “Zionists.” She continued to argue, “Y’all are learning about it in real time,” labeling her termination as fascism. However, Cooper Union officials chose not to comment on the exact reason for her firing, but it is clear that Rodriguez’s behavior and actions ultimately led to her dismissal.
In January, a screenshot from Rodriguez’s Instagram account showed her making derogatory and hateful comments about a “Pro Israel Action” event flyer, which featured five local speakers supporting Israel. Rodriguez had digitally superimposed cockroaches onto the flyer, calling former Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. a “Zionist lapdog” and referencing Nazis. This post was made in October, but she was not fired until January, which raises questions about Cooper Union’s decision-making and their tolerance for her behavior.
However, this was not the first time Rodriguez was involved in controversial and hateful incidents. In October, she participated in a City University of New York (CUNY) panel for Palestine, where she encouraged protesting against landlords and business people with ties to Israel. This only adds to her list of egregious actions and displays of hatred. It is concerning that Cooper Union officials did not take action after her cockroach post and allowed her to continue teaching without consequence.
It is ironic that Cooper Union officials emerged from this situation looking almost as bad as Rodriguez herself. If her termination was based on her encouraging protests against wealthy individuals, then that is not a valid reason for her dismissal. As an American, she has the right to express her opinions and advocate for causes she believes in. The true issue is her history of hateful actions and attitudes, which should have been addressed long before this recent incident.
CUNY law professor and co-founder of Students and Faculty for Equality at CUNY, Jeffrey Lax, believes that Cooper Union officials should be ashamed of themselves for allowing Rodriguez to continue teaching after her previous incidents. He also notes that her actions were far worse than just her roach post, as she held a knife to a reporter’s neck in May when he knocked on her apartment door to ask about her earlier verbal abuse of pro-life students at Hunter College. Hunter College officials quickly condemned and fired her, but Cooper Union chose to hire her for the fall semester.
Nutty NYC professor Shellyne Rodriguez, who held machete to Post reporter's neck, fired from Cooper Union over anti-Israel rants https://t.co/OVdi6fWroM
— Eric Leibman (@eric_leibman) February 4, 2024
Rodriguez is the epitome of modern wokeness, where privilege and hatred are at its core. She accuses others of hatred and oppression while harboring it within herself. This privilege is so strong that not even Nazi-inspired cockroaches prevented her from landing another teaching job. It took annoying the wrong rich individuals to finally bring her downfall, as even her cries of “fascism!” could not save her. It is a disheartening reality that individuals like Rodriguez continue to thrive in our society, but hopefully, her dismissal serves as a wake-up call for institutions to vet their employees better and not tolerate hateful actions and behavior.