Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
@marspidermonkey.bsky.social
Primatologist. Biological anthropologist. Recovering academic. Mammal Madness fan. Dog mom to the cutest rescue dog. Expertise in social relationships and stress in monkeys, apes, & humans, and the systemic inequities in academia & science. She/her
Pinned
Time for a book review! Starting out with Apes on the Edge: Chimpanzee Life on the West African Savanna by Jill Pruetz (University of Chicago Press, 2025)! (1/11)
🧪🦊 #Primates #Booksky #ScienceBooks #BookReview
🧪🦊 #Primates #Booksky #ScienceBooks #BookReview
Starting a pinned thread of book reviews! This is the review for Apes on the Edge, by Jill Pruetz!
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
It’s not just *me* (a semiotic anthropologist for whatever that is worth) and a lot of other people saying that Bovino is purposefully copying Nazi & fascist aesthetics.
(& throwing sig heils)
It’s also the fucking Germans for fuck sake!
& it’s *not* just the coat; there’s a coherent performance
(& throwing sig heils)
It’s also the fucking Germans for fuck sake!
& it’s *not* just the coat; there’s a coherent performance
German media likens US border patrol official’s coat to ‘Nazi look’
Gregory Bovino’s outwear choice prompts German commentators to compare it to fascist aesthetic
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:50 AM
It’s not just *me* (a semiotic anthropologist for whatever that is worth) and a lot of other people saying that Bovino is purposefully copying Nazi & fascist aesthetics.
(& throwing sig heils)
It’s also the fucking Germans for fuck sake!
& it’s *not* just the coat; there’s a coherent performance
(& throwing sig heils)
It’s also the fucking Germans for fuck sake!
& it’s *not* just the coat; there’s a coherent performance
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
we did not know that in order to smash the fash we simply had to let them freeze themselves solid first
I'm ready for the fascists to lose, I'm not at all excited for how many people they hurt before they do, but I'm taking a sick glee in how awfully they've chosen the hills they're going to die on.
Minnesota? Maine? In JANUARY?
Be goddamn serious.
Minnesota? Maine? In JANUARY?
Be goddamn serious.
The worst thing you can do is dare a Mainer. The WORST thing. People this Massholes are stubborn? They haven't seen anything
January 24, 2026 at 7:32 AM
we did not know that in order to smash the fash we simply had to let them freeze themselves solid first
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Trump Tower in NYC will be seized and used as the home of a new flagship civil rights organization and research facility, called the Transgender, Reproductive, and Undocumented Migration Protection (TRUMP) Center.
We’ll fund it with the money recovered from his corruption in office.
We’ll fund it with the money recovered from his corruption in office.
January 24, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Trump Tower in NYC will be seized and used as the home of a new flagship civil rights organization and research facility, called the Transgender, Reproductive, and Undocumented Migration Protection (TRUMP) Center.
We’ll fund it with the money recovered from his corruption in office.
We’ll fund it with the money recovered from his corruption in office.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
I think Donald Trump should know that one day, we’re going to turn mar a lago into a national memorial to the victims of MAGA.
The east wing ballroom will be bulldozed, replaced with a duplicate of the prior east wing.
The east wing ballroom will be bulldozed, replaced with a duplicate of the prior east wing.
January 24, 2026 at 6:55 AM
I think Donald Trump should know that one day, we’re going to turn mar a lago into a national memorial to the victims of MAGA.
The east wing ballroom will be bulldozed, replaced with a duplicate of the prior east wing.
The east wing ballroom will be bulldozed, replaced with a duplicate of the prior east wing.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Get people accustomed to the idea that ICE’s violent thugs are going to be prosecuted.
They don’t have absolute immunity for committing crimes.
Murder doesn’t have a statute of limitation.
Help shift the Overton window in your daily life.
They don’t have absolute immunity for committing crimes.
Murder doesn’t have a statute of limitation.
Help shift the Overton window in your daily life.
January 22, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Get people accustomed to the idea that ICE’s violent thugs are going to be prosecuted.
They don’t have absolute immunity for committing crimes.
Murder doesn’t have a statute of limitation.
Help shift the Overton window in your daily life.
They don’t have absolute immunity for committing crimes.
Murder doesn’t have a statute of limitation.
Help shift the Overton window in your daily life.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
It's worth noting that the population of Minnesota is about 5.8 million, so close to 1 in 100 people in this entire amazing state showed up to say #FuckICE today
50,000+ marched against Operation Metro Surge and IN FAVOR of our neighbors in 10 Degree below weather.
January 24, 2026 at 2:34 AM
It's worth noting that the population of Minnesota is about 5.8 million, so close to 1 in 100 people in this entire amazing state showed up to say #FuckICE today
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Not all heroes wear capes,
it’s high vis snow gear in MN.
it’s high vis snow gear in MN.
James is one of the people who helps maintain/protect the memorial.
He's been out here every day for the past 2 weeks and 2 days, from 10am til midnight.
He lives in the house behind him.
He's been out here every day for the past 2 weeks and 2 days, from 10am til midnight.
He lives in the house behind him.
January 24, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Not all heroes wear capes,
it’s high vis snow gear in MN.
it’s high vis snow gear in MN.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
My mother was in an Iranian prison when her father died. She’s never forgotten the cruelty of being denied the chance to see him one last time or go to his funeral. I grew up thinking only an extremely cruel government could not only allow, but cause such a thing. A generational source of pain.
there are so many gutting stories, but this one is hitting me extra hard. just imagining wael tarabishi slowly dying without his dad there to care for him because he was jailed by ICE makes me…i don’t have words. this country is disgusting.
Disabled son of ICE detainee dies after 30 days of hospitalization
It had been months since Wael Tarabishi seen his father. The family is calling on ICE to release Maher Tarabishi so he may attend his son's funeral.
www.wfaa.com
January 24, 2026 at 6:40 AM
My mother was in an Iranian prison when her father died. She’s never forgotten the cruelty of being denied the chance to see him one last time or go to his funeral. I grew up thinking only an extremely cruel government could not only allow, but cause such a thing. A generational source of pain.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
While NYT sheepishly beats around the bush, the Germans call a spade a spade:
January 24, 2026 at 1:09 AM
While NYT sheepishly beats around the bush, the Germans call a spade a spade:
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Yeah I say we pick March 2003
Maybe instead of identifying specific ICE agents who do particularly heinous things, we could just penalize everyone who was on payroll at the agency starting by a certain date.
January 24, 2026 at 5:14 AM
Yeah I say we pick March 2003
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
This is deep stuff. In Europe installations known as "Stumbling Stones" are small brass plates embedded into the cobble or concrete to designate a place where Jews lived or work just prior to being killed or deported by Nazis. That we have these markers, in 2026 USA, is incredibly important.
"A NEIGHBOR
WAS TAKEN HERE"
"ABOLISH ICE"
Minneapolis January 23, 2026
WAS TAKEN HERE"
"ABOLISH ICE"
Minneapolis January 23, 2026
January 24, 2026 at 5:04 AM
This is deep stuff. In Europe installations known as "Stumbling Stones" are small brass plates embedded into the cobble or concrete to designate a place where Jews lived or work just prior to being killed or deported by Nazis. That we have these markers, in 2026 USA, is incredibly important.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Another fact that people outside of MN might find hard to believe:
I cannot participate in any kind of observation of ice activities because they will put me in a database, and follow me when I make deliveries of supplies to vulnerable people, so they can abduct them.
I cannot participate in any kind of observation of ice activities because they will put me in a database, and follow me when I make deliveries of supplies to vulnerable people, so they can abduct them.
A fact that's hard to believe for many people outside of MN:
I have to be vetted to join my local signal group that patrols our local elementary to keep federal agents from kidnapping students bc those same feds are infiltrating those chats to better target vulnerable people for abduction.
I have to be vetted to join my local signal group that patrols our local elementary to keep federal agents from kidnapping students bc those same feds are infiltrating those chats to better target vulnerable people for abduction.
January 24, 2026 at 4:38 AM
Another fact that people outside of MN might find hard to believe:
I cannot participate in any kind of observation of ice activities because they will put me in a database, and follow me when I make deliveries of supplies to vulnerable people, so they can abduct them.
I cannot participate in any kind of observation of ice activities because they will put me in a database, and follow me when I make deliveries of supplies to vulnerable people, so they can abduct them.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Reminder that trying to prevent your neighbors from being kidnapped is not "protesting."
Legally observing is not "protesting."
Blowing whistles is not "protesting."
Recording police actions is not "protesting."
Guarding your child's school is not "protesting."
Protesting is what you saw today.
Legally observing is not "protesting."
Blowing whistles is not "protesting."
Recording police actions is not "protesting."
Guarding your child's school is not "protesting."
Protesting is what you saw today.
Minnesota shifting narrative from "rabble rousing protesters" vs "law enforcement" to "people of conscience" vs "evil regime." This is essential to defeating authoritarianism - exposing who, what & why they are by demonstrating who, what & why we are.
And MAGA knows it.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...
And MAGA knows it.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...
Trump privately frustrated that he risks losing control of immigration message amid Minnesota chaos | CNN Politics
The ongoing protests and images coming out of Minnesota have prompted concerns from some Trump administration officials over the optics of the immigration crackdown as Americans grow alarmed by the ch...
www.cnn.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Reminder that trying to prevent your neighbors from being kidnapped is not "protesting."
Legally observing is not "protesting."
Blowing whistles is not "protesting."
Recording police actions is not "protesting."
Guarding your child's school is not "protesting."
Protesting is what you saw today.
Legally observing is not "protesting."
Blowing whistles is not "protesting."
Recording police actions is not "protesting."
Guarding your child's school is not "protesting."
Protesting is what you saw today.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
A few days ago, I stood in the graveyard of an 1100 year old church, getting damper and damper in the drizzling rain.
A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.
The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.
The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
January 23, 2026 at 11:44 AM
A few days ago, I stood in the graveyard of an 1100 year old church, getting damper and damper in the drizzling rain.
A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.
The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.
The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Here’s my question about the warrantless breaking and entering scandal: if they have one secret, illegal directive that people aren’t allowed to write down, do they have more?
January 24, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Here’s my question about the warrantless breaking and entering scandal: if they have one secret, illegal directive that people aren’t allowed to write down, do they have more?
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
The beauty of mutual aid is that it is fundamentally just that. It can adapt to different situations and get more complex but its logic is fundamentally simple and easy to understand.
What many may call mutual aid is basically just people looking out for their community members, their neighbours, their teachers, their co-worker, their local street vendor etc.
January 23, 2026 at 11:57 PM
The beauty of mutual aid is that it is fundamentally just that. It can adapt to different situations and get more complex but its logic is fundamentally simple and easy to understand.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
The hazards of failing first-year biology: you invade the wrong pole.
🇦🇶 🐧 🇬🇱 🐻❄️
🇦🇶 🐧 🇬🇱 🐻❄️
January 24, 2026 at 4:34 AM
The hazards of failing first-year biology: you invade the wrong pole.
🇦🇶 🐧 🇬🇱 🐻❄️
🇦🇶 🐧 🇬🇱 🐻❄️
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
As tens of thousands of Minnesotans marched in -20 windchills downtown today, tens of thousands more were quietly patrolling every neighborhood across the Cities. The sheer scale of our collective resistance is staggering
Photo of anti-ICE rally and march in downtown Mpls in frigid weather.
Haven’t heard crowd size estimates yet.
www.mprnews.org for live updates.
Haven’t heard crowd size estimates yet.
www.mprnews.org for live updates.
January 23, 2026 at 10:53 PM
As tens of thousands of Minnesotans marched in -20 windchills downtown today, tens of thousands more were quietly patrolling every neighborhood across the Cities. The sheer scale of our collective resistance is staggering
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
if i'm understanding the meteorology correctly, these 50,000+ protestors turned out under the coldest air mass in the planet's entire northern hemisphere today
50,000+ marched against Operation Metro Surge and IN FAVOR of our neighbors in 10 Degree below weather.
January 24, 2026 at 3:05 AM
if i'm understanding the meteorology correctly, these 50,000+ protestors turned out under the coldest air mass in the planet's entire northern hemisphere today
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
it's why even at our worst, I can't hate this country. so many of us are awful. the people in power are so often awful. but we are a 287 different cultures in a trench coat and when those of us who love being in that trench coat with the gang rise up, we are fucking amazing.
January 23, 2026 at 9:50 PM
it's why even at our worst, I can't hate this country. so many of us are awful. the people in power are so often awful. but we are a 287 different cultures in a trench coat and when those of us who love being in that trench coat with the gang rise up, we are fucking amazing.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
i saw another recounting of this while it was happening, & the photo of the tear gas canister matches that account. So did ICE just leave the scene of an accident?
I've said before these federal agents are breaking Minnesota law on a daily basis & why isn't Minnesota state police enforcing it?
I've said before these federal agents are breaking Minnesota law on a daily basis & why isn't Minnesota state police enforcing it?
An ICE vehicle appears to have crashed into a telephone pole
January 23, 2026 at 10:06 PM
i saw another recounting of this while it was happening, & the photo of the tear gas canister matches that account. So did ICE just leave the scene of an accident?
I've said before these federal agents are breaking Minnesota law on a daily basis & why isn't Minnesota state police enforcing it?
I've said before these federal agents are breaking Minnesota law on a daily basis & why isn't Minnesota state police enforcing it?
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
Consequences are pretty cool, actually.
They wheeled this Nazi asshole into court in a wheelchair and he was still trying to hide his face in shame 76 years after World War II ended. That's the kind of commitment I'm looking for.
Ex-Nazi guard, 101, sentenced for role in 3,500 murders
He was sentenced to five years in prison for serving at the Nazis’ Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
www.nbcnews.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:50 AM
Consequences are pretty cool, actually.
Reposted by Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒
TikTok is now under US ownership and their new ToS reads like a guide to giving fascists everything they need to put you on a list.
They’re collecting information about immigration status, citizenship, sexual orientation, whether you’re trans or non binary and physical or mental disabilities.
They’re collecting information about immigration status, citizenship, sexual orientation, whether you’re trans or non binary and physical or mental disabilities.
January 23, 2026 at 9:11 PM
TikTok is now under US ownership and their new ToS reads like a guide to giving fascists everything they need to put you on a list.
They’re collecting information about immigration status, citizenship, sexual orientation, whether you’re trans or non binary and physical or mental disabilities.
They’re collecting information about immigration status, citizenship, sexual orientation, whether you’re trans or non binary and physical or mental disabilities.