That’s the dude.
Introduction
What happens when a tech CEO tries to act tough online, gets called out, and then spends days defending his fragile ego?
You get a masterclass in contradiction, tone-deaf leadership, and corporate-style gaslighting. This is the story of Amir Reiter — a self-proclaimed hiring leader who derailed his own credibility on LinkedIn after making a sweeping, xenophobic remark... and then spiraled when challenged.
The Setup
It started with a now-deleted post about a candidate declining a “simple coding challenge.” Amir jumped in to mock the situation, dropping this gem:
“How fragile — to feel insulted by a simple request. Very American.”
Pause.
Calling people "fragile" is one thing. Tacking on "Very American" is where things cross into xenophobic territory — a dismissive generalization targeting a whole nationality under the guise of commentary.
So I responded. And the spiral began.
The Meltdown (In Acts)
Act I – The Alpha Begins to Crumble
Amir tries to defend himself with faux-philosophy:
“Orchids are fragile, and I love them.”
“Fragility has its place.”
So which is it? Is fragility weakness? Or beauty?
Act II – The Semantics Shield
Caught in contradiction, he pivots:
“Is America a race? I thought it was a nationality.”
Classic tactic: when you're losing ground, try to reframe the argument as a debate about definitions. But no amount of semantics can hide the intent behind the original post.
Act III – The Victim Card
“My comments weren’t directed at anyone.”
“You're attacking me for my beliefs.”
“You’re making claims about me!”
This from the same guy who started by mocking others for being too sensitive.
Act IV – The Bot Theory
At one point, he suggested I might be a bot. Because apparently the only explanation for being held accountable... is automation?
Act V – The Silence
After calling out the xenophobia directly, I dropped the final replies:
“Just because you live and breathe xenophobia doesn’t make it any less wrong.”
“If your ego is made of glass, you need to stay off the internet.”
And that was that. He stopped replying.
What This Reveals
This wasn’t about one argument — this is a pattern in tech leadership:
Hiding prejudice behind “professionalism”
Weaponizing tone to dismiss legitimate criticism
Melting down when held accountable
We’re expected to respect these guys because they have “CEO” in their headline, but what are they actually modeling? Certainly not leadership.
Why I’m Posting This
I'm not here to "cancel" Amir. I'm here to document a case study — because this is what many devs, especially those from marginalized or international backgrounds, experience constantly.
These aren’t isolated moments. They’re embedded in startup culture. And the more we call them out, the less power they hold.
Final Thought
If you’re a CEO reading this:
You don’t have to be perfect — but if you get caught saying something dumb, own it. Don’t spin. Don’t deflect. And don’t accuse your critics of being bots.
You might actually gain some respect.
—
Written by Tyler Johnston-Kent
Game Developer, Web Architect, Indie Tech Final Boss
formant.ca | YouTube | dev.to/formant
Top comments (0)