Michael Röllinghoff
@roellinghoff.bsky.social
Assistant professor of Japanese Studies at HKU. I write about settler colonialism, empire, and Indigenous sovereignty in Hokkaido and the transpacific. PhD from UToronto. Postdoc at UTokyo. 👨🏻🏫
Views mine, like/repost ≠ endorsement.
Views mine, like/repost ≠ endorsement.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
As an Indigenous person, watching Trump make plans to invade an Indigenous territory is fucking terrifying. Everyone is making this about Denmark, but it will be Inuit facing this new wave of violent colonization.
January 11, 2026 at 6:25 PM
As an Indigenous person, watching Trump make plans to invade an Indigenous territory is fucking terrifying. Everyone is making this about Denmark, but it will be Inuit facing this new wave of violent colonization.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
"The machinery of our state was built to protect and defend institutions of power."
Truer word were never written.
Truer word were never written.
"Consequence-free physical and sexual abuse of children was part of the deal the institutional Church offered the Irish state for to run schools, hospitals and other expensive-looking services.
This week the Taoiseach demonstrated the same mental habits."
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-the...
This week the Taoiseach demonstrated the same mental habits."
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-the...
The Gist: The Abuse Factory
X, the child abuse imagery app, revealed our state has no red lines. This is the Gist.
www.thegist.ie
January 10, 2026 at 3:04 PM
"The machinery of our state was built to protect and defend institutions of power."
Truer word were never written.
Truer word were never written.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
I've written a chapter, "Hearts of Darkness: The Varieties of Imperial Violence," for a volume on modern imperialism edited by Nicolas Beaupré and Florian Louis. French publication forthcoming. I'm sharing the English version here in the meantime papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Hearts of Darkness: The Varieties of Imperial Violence
<p><span>“Exterminate all the brutes!”: these words conclude a nominally humanitarian treatise in <i>Heart of Darkness</i>, the 1899 novella by<i> </i
papers.ssrn.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:21 PM
I've written a chapter, "Hearts of Darkness: The Varieties of Imperial Violence," for a volume on modern imperialism edited by Nicolas Beaupré and Florian Louis. French publication forthcoming. I'm sharing the English version here in the meantime papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Uchimura Kanzō on "Christian nations" which engage in colonization and empire: "基督教國とは名のみである。彼等にして基督教國民たらば悪魔も亦天使たるのである。彼等の罪悪は歴史の頁の上に鮮かに残りて、永久にその不信背逆を物語つてゐるのである。"
January 8, 2026 at 3:25 AM
Uchimura Kanzō on "Christian nations" which engage in colonization and empire: "基督教國とは名のみである。彼等にして基督教國民たらば悪魔も亦天使たるのである。彼等の罪悪は歴史の頁の上に鮮かに残りて、永久にその不信背逆を物語つてゐるのである。"
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
I have only just learned of this excellent, totally spooky tradition from the Inuit in Nunatsiavut, on the day that settler Newfoundlanders call Old Christmas Day. Nalujuk Night, when creepy tatters-and-bones figures emerge from the eastern sea ice and chase children!
www.mun.ca/ich/search-i...
www.mun.ca/ich/search-i...
January 7, 2026 at 9:40 AM
I have only just learned of this excellent, totally spooky tradition from the Inuit in Nunatsiavut, on the day that settler Newfoundlanders call Old Christmas Day. Nalujuk Night, when creepy tatters-and-bones figures emerge from the eastern sea ice and chase children!
www.mun.ca/ich/search-i...
www.mun.ca/ich/search-i...
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
The fact that the national broadcaster is deeply problematically using the euphemistic term 'acquiring' here surely reflects the widespread colonial understanding of what Greenland is, an understanding in which Greenlanders are little more than extras in a global power game.
US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and utilising the US military in furtherance of the goal is "always an option," the White House has said
US says military use 'an option' for acquiring Greenland
US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and utilising the US military in furtherance of the goal is "always an option," the White House has said.
www.rte.ie
January 7, 2026 at 10:19 AM
The fact that the national broadcaster is deeply problematically using the euphemistic term 'acquiring' here surely reflects the widespread colonial understanding of what Greenland is, an understanding in which Greenlanders are little more than extras in a global power game.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
If it's not regime change, and it's certainly not "law enforcement," let's just call it a nuclear-armed oil heist.
January 6, 2026 at 6:52 PM
If it's not regime change, and it's certainly not "law enforcement," let's just call it a nuclear-armed oil heist.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
In retaliation for a solidarity event for Palestinian political prisoners in Israel and a screening of the film “Hind Rajab.” For this they shot students.
Israel just shot up a university in Palestine, wounding students.
Just thought you should know.
Just thought you should know.
January 7, 2026 at 12:39 AM
In retaliation for a solidarity event for Palestinian political prisoners in Israel and a screening of the film “Hind Rajab.” For this they shot students.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Twitter has become like the ongoing pandemic in the sense that it’s exposing just how much people are willing to tolerate at the expense of those who are often most vulnerable among us.
NEW: The child sex abuse material trade on X is spiraling out of control… and a key child safety partner just cut X off after they say to company stopped paying them
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
Accounts peddling child abuse content flood some X hashtags as safety partner cuts ties
Thorn, a non-profit that provides detection and moderation software related to child safety, said they canceled their contract with X after the platform stopped paying them.
www.nbcnews.com
June 20, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Twitter has become like the ongoing pandemic in the sense that it’s exposing just how much people are willing to tolerate at the expense of those who are often most vulnerable among us.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
"The possessive logic of patriarchal white sovereignty is compelled to deny and refuse what it cannot own - the sovereignty of the Indigenous other" (179).
December 24, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"The possessive logic of patriarchal white sovereignty is compelled to deny and refuse what it cannot own - the sovereignty of the Indigenous other" (179).
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Basically the Rob Ford model of mayoring, but by somebody who believes in Government.
It's funny how Zohran's tactic appears to be showing up to things that are well-known problems and going "wait why haven't we fixed this yet"
January 6, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Basically the Rob Ford model of mayoring, but by somebody who believes in Government.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
The vibe at the American consulate earlier. End U.S. imperialism.
January 6, 2026 at 8:47 AM
The vibe at the American consulate earlier. End U.S. imperialism.
What the United States military did to Maduro is what ICE does every day to Venezuelan migrants, but in reverse.
January 5, 2026 at 11:04 PM
What the United States military did to Maduro is what ICE does every day to Venezuelan migrants, but in reverse.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Third Thursday Lecture - Samurai, Knights, and Nationalisms: The Middle Ages in Modern Japan
Thu 15 Jan 2026 with @olegb.bsky.social (@york.ac.uk)
6:00pm GMT, In-person in Norwich (venue TBC) & online via Zoom
🎟 Free and open to all – booking essential us06web.zoom.us/webi...
Thu 15 Jan 2026 with @olegb.bsky.social (@york.ac.uk)
6:00pm GMT, In-person in Norwich (venue TBC) & online via Zoom
🎟 Free and open to all – booking essential us06web.zoom.us/webi...
January 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Third Thursday Lecture - Samurai, Knights, and Nationalisms: The Middle Ages in Modern Japan
Thu 15 Jan 2026 with @olegb.bsky.social (@york.ac.uk)
6:00pm GMT, In-person in Norwich (venue TBC) & online via Zoom
🎟 Free and open to all – booking essential us06web.zoom.us/webi...
Thu 15 Jan 2026 with @olegb.bsky.social (@york.ac.uk)
6:00pm GMT, In-person in Norwich (venue TBC) & online via Zoom
🎟 Free and open to all – booking essential us06web.zoom.us/webi...
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Also for anyone suggesting Canada is limited in what it can say because of its proximity to and dependence on the US, that didn’t stop Mexico.
"Mexico strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally ... by armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the [UN] Charter"
www.gob.mx/sre/prensa/m...
www.gob.mx/sre/prensa/m...
January 3, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Also for anyone suggesting Canada is limited in what it can say because of its proximity to and dependence on the US, that didn’t stop Mexico.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Nobody cares what you think of Maduro.
The question is should the US invade a sovereign country and depose its government or should it not.
The question is should the US invade a sovereign country and depose its government or should it not.
January 5, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Nobody cares what you think of Maduro.
The question is should the US invade a sovereign country and depose its government or should it not.
The question is should the US invade a sovereign country and depose its government or should it not.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Once again, this obsession with the “deserving/undeserving poor” is at least as old as the Black Death and has always been a thinly veiled attack on labor power (see my original thread below)
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
January 4, 2026 at 11:32 PM
Once again, this obsession with the “deserving/undeserving poor” is at least as old as the Black Death and has always been a thinly veiled attack on labor power (see my original thread below)
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
ディトランジション、ベイビー
トーリ・ピーターズ
河出書房新社 #架空書店251121 ⑤
amzn.to/3JUkyKo ➡️
#251125on
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#河出書房新社 #マイノリティ
#読書好きな人と繋がりたい #読書好きさんと繋がりたい
トーリ・ピーターズ
河出書房新社 #架空書店251121 ⑤
amzn.to/3JUkyKo ➡️
#251125on
#書籍新刊情報 #本 #予約受付中 #予約
#読書 #ディトランジション
#河出書房新社 #マイノリティ
#読書好きな人と繋がりたい #読書好きさんと繋がりたい
November 21, 2025 at 2:02 PM
ディトランジション、ベイビー
トーリ・ピーターズ
河出書房新社 #架空書店251121 ⑤
amzn.to/3JUkyKo ➡️
#251125on
#書籍新刊情報 #本 #予約受付中 #予約
#読書 #ディトランジション
#河出書房新社 #マイノリティ
#読書好きな人と繋がりたい #読書好きさんと繋がりたい
トーリ・ピーターズ
河出書房新社 #架空書店251121 ⑤
amzn.to/3JUkyKo ➡️
#251125on
#書籍新刊情報 #本 #予約受付中 #予約
#読書 #ディトランジション
#河出書房新社 #マイノリティ
#読書好きな人と繋がりたい #読書好きさんと繋がりたい
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
Beyond horrible. My soul aches for Rosa González, and all the Venezuelans who were harmed, killed, frightened, made homeless. I'm thinking about all the grandmas, grandpas, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, children, babies.
The casualties already coming in. Grandmothers in their apartments….
January 4, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Beyond horrible. My soul aches for Rosa González, and all the Venezuelans who were harmed, killed, frightened, made homeless. I'm thinking about all the grandmas, grandpas, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, children, babies.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
40 people (at least) died. It's the official policy of these newsrooms that Latin American lives aren't worth anything. Again, if you still pay for an NYT subscription I think you're trash.
NEW: Plans for secret U.S. raid to capture Maduro leaked to the Washington Post and New York Times before it happened, but both decided not to publish to protect U.S. troops - Semafor
January 4, 2026 at 2:48 AM
40 people (at least) died. It's the official policy of these newsrooms that Latin American lives aren't worth anything. Again, if you still pay for an NYT subscription I think you're trash.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
The US has attacked a country, kidnapped its head of state, and is seizing its oil. Trump has invoked the Monroe Doctrine.
This is a moment for Canada to stand up: condemn this act of imperialism. Reject impunity and the politics of brute force.
This is a moment for Canada to stand up: condemn this act of imperialism. Reject impunity and the politics of brute force.
January 3, 2026 at 6:31 PM
The US has attacked a country, kidnapped its head of state, and is seizing its oil. Trump has invoked the Monroe Doctrine.
This is a moment for Canada to stand up: condemn this act of imperialism. Reject impunity and the politics of brute force.
This is a moment for Canada to stand up: condemn this act of imperialism. Reject impunity and the politics of brute force.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
"international law must be followed" is european for "thoughts and prayers"
January 3, 2026 at 2:08 PM
"international law must be followed" is european for "thoughts and prayers"
Let’s be honest: Trump, a fascist, plans on clinging to power for the rest of his life, even if he has to kill millions to do so. The argument that this is somehow acceptable because of something called “democracy” or “legitimacy” is nothing but a smokescreen for Yank imperialism.
January 3, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Let’s be honest: Trump, a fascist, plans on clinging to power for the rest of his life, even if he has to kill millions to do so. The argument that this is somehow acceptable because of something called “democracy” or “legitimacy” is nothing but a smokescreen for Yank imperialism.
Reposted by Michael Röllinghoff
The US has launched an unprovoked and illegal attack on Venezuela.
This is a brazen attempt to secure control over Venezuelan natural resources.
It is an act of war that puts the lives of millions of people at risk, and should be condemned by anyone who believes in sovereignty & international law.
This is a brazen attempt to secure control over Venezuelan natural resources.
It is an act of war that puts the lives of millions of people at risk, and should be condemned by anyone who believes in sovereignty & international law.
January 3, 2026 at 10:26 AM
The US has launched an unprovoked and illegal attack on Venezuela.
This is a brazen attempt to secure control over Venezuelan natural resources.
It is an act of war that puts the lives of millions of people at risk, and should be condemned by anyone who believes in sovereignty & international law.
This is a brazen attempt to secure control over Venezuelan natural resources.
It is an act of war that puts the lives of millions of people at risk, and should be condemned by anyone who believes in sovereignty & international law.