Julia Suryakusuma
The writer is the author of Julia’s Jihad.

DO you remember the saying “sticks and sto­nes may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Children are often taught by their parents to say this as a form of self-defense when other children taunt or tease them.

Well, parents are wrong on the second part of the adage, because the truth is that words can really, really hurt. In fact, you can be sued for defamation, as