Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

May 8, 2026

A Jewish Approach to Concern Trolling, Public Shaming, and Call-Out Culture

Inflicting pain through words.

In American culture—perhaps appropriately for a people who hold freedom of speech sacred—the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” has long had a kind of moral salience. But a recent, opposing trend warns against hate speech and “microaggressions,” while online mobs can “cancel” and publicly shame people for expressing the wrong opinions or using the wrong words.

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