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18 min read

We All Saw It: Gaza and the World That Watched and Did Nothing

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is not a religious war that has existed since antiquity, but a documented, decades-long dispossession of Palestinian land and people that the entire world has watched unfold on our screens in real time, and that the institutions with the power to stop it have chosen, for strategic and financial reasons, to allow to continue.

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The Essay Archive

Politics

September 27, 2026

18 min read

We All Saw It: Gaza and the World That Watched and Did Nothing

What Comes Back: Colonialism, Cosmology, and the Rhetoric of Survival

Just a general announcement that the Catholics colonized folk tradition, oh so many years ago, and that if they hadn't my grandparents may not have been weekly mass-goers and there wouldn't have been as many cool saints.

The Right to Understand: Information Access as a Human Right

The right to access information is recognized in international human rights law under Article 19 of the ICCPR, the Aarhus Convention, and regional human rights instruments, but the gap between what these frameworks promise and what people can actually access remains enormous. The individual might be the key to bridging this gap.

Days and Days: Hand Beading as a Lost Craft

My Nana spent days and days hand-beading my mother's wedding dress and made my flower girl dress to match. That act of love is also an act of resistance against a fashion industry that decided craft was inefficient, time was money, and a dress made by machine was the same as a dress made by hand.

Mytien the Star Fairy: Keychains, Anglo-Saxon Names, and Who Gets to Feel Included

This is an essay about a keychain, and about everything a keychain quietly says about whose childhood the world thinks deserves to be commemorated.

“Genocide”: How the United States Government Weaponized the Word

A formal rhetorical analysis of how the United States Government strategically deployed and withheld the word "genocide" in two separate case studies and what those instances reveal about language, legal obligation, and international power.

Team Logan, Unite: Rory Gilmore and What Her Dating Crash Course Represents

It is my humble opinion that Logan Huntzberger was the best romantic partner for Rory out of her three bigs, but not for the reasons you may think.

Kashubians and The Politics of Naming a Language

Kashubian is a West Slavic language spoken historically in the Pomerania region of northern Poland, the region Anna left when she immigrated to Minnesota. It is distinct from Polish, with its own grammar, vocabulary, and centuries of independent development.

Lapsed but Never Left: Catholicism as Inheritance

The identity, the smell of incense, a rosary, Catholic school, certain holidays, certain language around guilt and grace, embedded itself deeper than the level of theology. It was a way of life.

Immigration, Identity, and What a Name Carries Across an Ocean

A piece of identity is lost when a name changes, regardless of the reason. A name carries so much. It carries a language's unique pronunciation, a name's geographical origin, and a family history

Patrilineal Naming, Women's History, and The Last Shaw

Ten generations of Shaws, from Thomas Alfred Shaw of Inverness, Scotland, to John Shaw Schaw in Down, Northern Ireland, to Osro "Rowe" Shaw in Fillmore, Minnesota, to South Dakota and me.

From the Rubble, Couture: Lebanese Designers and Survival

Lebanese designers have been creating the highest-end fashion through civil war, economic collapse, the 2020 port explosion, and now genocide. These designers pour their souls and identities into their creations; the proof is in the stitching.

Your Health is for Sale: Healthcare Rhetoric as a Revenue Stream

Have you heard that you need a "detox" or "cleanse"? Did it help? Did it cost a lot of green? I'm hoping you haven't been a victim of wellness industry rhetoric, but the possiblity is definitely there.

Not On My Doorstep: America's Geographic Distance from War is Our Moral Excuse

Americans' geographical distance is real, and so is our moral distance. The isolation and individualism we have created as the backbone of American identity are deeply ingrained in every political decision we make.

What a Woman's Hair Is Really For

February 2007, Brittney Spears shaved her head. February 2026, I shaved my head. There was much more uproar about her new look. She got an unreasonable amount of hate, just as every other woman in the public eye who has chosen to shave her head. Why are we such haters of women's hair choices again?

You Can Take the Girl Out of Catholic School

I've stumbled onto a sixth century Irish abbess and herbal healer who shares my name, uses honey as medicine, and found her convent by following nine white deer. Oh and there's a sepia photograph of a deer that has been hanging on my wall for years.

Bread, Circuses, and the Met Gala

"Bread and circuses" (panem et circenses) a.k.a. the ancient Roman m.o. of providing food and lavish entertainment to keep the poor from revolting. We have our met gala... but where's the food?? Oh. Right. McDonalds.

Going Biopsychosocial on Eating Disorders

Hmmm. This GLP-1 era is looking a little too similar to the 2016 Tumblr era. If you're feeling the need to show your clavicle and hollow cheeks like everyone on your screen, maybe read this first.

Surrealism: an Artistic Movement in Western Society

Are the pictures in this essay unlocking your subconscious mind? If not, maybe you should paint like the surrealists to unlock what's within!

An Irish Breakthrough in an English Literary World

Are you tired of the English invading Irish spaces? I'm sorry... I have one more example for you! But at least this one discusses an author who cared what it was actually like for the Irish all those years ago.

Quantum Politics: How Algorithms and Language Are Pushing Us to the Extremes

Physics is involved in every. single. thing. Which is why it’s the only science I liked in high school. It’s like math with a purpose. What else can it give a purpose to? Politics?

A Bottle of Prosecco and the Heart Path

Some of my favorite thought journeys have occurred after a glass or two of champagne or light, bubbly wine. This time, I was lucky enough to be reading my palm to predict my life, and I think I'm psychic now.

Female Rage and The Immune System

So I'm thinking fires burn ecosystems... rude. But if we let nature take its course, we see nothing but generative growth and resilience! Can this force of nature live within us as well? Within our immune systems?

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

I grew up in Catholic school, and it was a determining factor in who I am today and how I process the world around me. As my very dear, Catholic mother says, "It's Catholics like those that give the rest a bad rap."

My Social Dilemma

Are you using social media or is it using you? Is the app the product... or are YOU the product? Are you creating the content with your thoughts? Or is the content you're consuming forming your thoughts? Uh oh.

The Hellville of Fast Fashion

As a fashion girly who loves shoes and clothes and all things expressive, even I can admit that there are many dark sides to the fashion industry. But this particular essay discusses a documentary. Fast fashion. And how we consume.

Awareness vs Exploitation in Media

This essay covers the depiction of violence against minorities in media and whether or not it brings awareness or crosses the line into exploitation. Touchy subject, and maybe even more important to talk about because of that.

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No spam. Unsubscribe whenever. I mean it.

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Abigail Shaw

Looking
Deeper

We All Saw It: Gaza and the World That Watched and Did Nothing

Want to know when the next one drops?

We All Saw It: Gaza and the World That Watched and Did Nothing

What Comes Back: Colonialism, Cosmology, and the Rhetoric of Survival

The Right to Understand: Information Access as a Human Right

Days and Days: Hand Beading as a Lost Craft

Mytien the Star Fairy: Keychains, Anglo-Saxon Names, and Who Gets to Feel Included

“Genocide”: How the United States Government Weaponized the Word

Team Logan, Unite: Rory Gilmore and What Her Dating Crash Course Represents

Kashubians and The Politics of Naming a Language

Lapsed but Never Left: Catholicism as Inheritance

Immigration, Identity, and What a Name Carries Across an Ocean

Patrilineal Naming, Women's History, and The Last Shaw

From the Rubble, Couture: Lebanese Designers and Survival

Your Health is for Sale: Healthcare Rhetoric as a Revenue Stream

Not On My Doorstep: America's Geographic Distance from War is Our Moral Excuse

What a Woman's Hair Is Really For

You Can Take the Girl Out of Catholic School

Bread, Circuses, and the Met Gala

Going Biopsychosocial on Eating Disorders

Surrealism: an Artistic Movement in Western Society

An Irish Breakthrough in an English Literary World

Quantum Politics: How Algorithms and Language Are Pushing Us to the Extremes

A Bottle of Prosecco and the Heart Path

Female Rage and The Immune System

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

My Social Dilemma

The Hellville of Fast Fashion

Awareness vs Exploitation in Media

Want to know when the next one drops?

Shop local sellers first

Barnes & Noble

Your library is free

Best online options

AbigaiL Shaw

LookingDeeper

We All Saw It: Gaza and the World That Watched and Did Nothing

Want to know when the next one drops?

We All Saw It: Gaza and the World That Watched and Did Nothing

What Comes Back: Colonialism, Cosmology, and the Rhetoric of Survival

The Right to Understand: Information Access as a Human Right

Days and Days: Hand Beading as a Lost Craft

Mytien the Star Fairy: Keychains, Anglo-Saxon Names, and Who Gets to Feel Included

“Genocide”: How the United States Government Weaponized the Word

Team Logan, Unite: Rory Gilmore and What Her Dating Crash Course Represents

Kashubians and The Politics of Naming a Language

Lapsed but Never Left: Catholicism as Inheritance

Immigration, Identity, and What a Name Carries Across an Ocean

Patrilineal Naming, Women's History, and The Last Shaw

From the Rubble, Couture: Lebanese Designers and Survival

Your Health is for Sale: Healthcare Rhetoric as a Revenue Stream

Not On My Doorstep: America's Geographic Distance from War is Our Moral Excuse

What a Woman's Hair Is Really For

You Can Take the Girl Out of Catholic School

Bread, Circuses, and the Met Gala

Going Biopsychosocial on Eating Disorders

Surrealism: an Artistic Movement in Western Society

An Irish Breakthrough in an English Literary World

Quantum Politics: How Algorithms and Language Are Pushing Us to the Extremes

A Bottle of Prosecco and the Heart Path

Female Rage and The Immune System

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

My Social Dilemma

The Hellville of Fast Fashion

Awareness vs Exploitation in Media

Want to know when the next one drops?

Shop local sellers first

Barnes & Noble

Your library is free

Best online options

AbigaiL Shaw

Looking
Deeper