According to a report in the New York Post, Citi just fired a young employee because she posted a comment sympathetic to the actions of the Nazis during WWII and Hamas during the October massacres. As most humans with both common and moral sense might say, “Finally, a company that has the guts to weed the garden.”
Before her termination, twenty-five year old Nozima Husainova made $75,000 annually as a “personal banker” at Citi, supposedly to “foster relations with customers.” Imagine being a Jewish customer with an account or business under her care. Imagine seeing her instagram post that read “No wonder why Hitler wanted to get rid of all of them.” Citi probably acted out of two motivations: 1) She certainly can’t foster relations with some of our customers, and 2) She is blatantly antisemitic, racist, and morally corrupt if she condones a massacre and a genocide.
How would an ordinary day at the office go had she not posted her remark? Well, maybe in the break room she might express her antisemitism and desire for genocide, but out among the offices and desks, the attractive young woman would have a pleasant, even jovial relationship. Maybe out among the others in the office, she would seem to be intelligent and ethical. She obviously pleased management enough to get the job two years ago.
Social Media Is a Priest Revealing the Confession
After Husainova made her comment, the world knew her psychological makeup, knew her dark interior, her murderous desires, and her lack of empathy for victims of an atrocity. The beast inside the beauty revealed itself.
And in her self-revelation, Husainova showed us another value of the First Amendment. Because people can freely “speak their minds,” we all have another mechanism to know who they are, really are. Instagram is not a private conversation whispered in the break room of Citi; it’s a megaphone in a mob, a pundit with widespread reach. And it’s as permanent as a gravestone carved from granodiorite. Social media is the priest emerging from the confessional and telling everyone in earshot, “Hey, you’ll never believe what So-n-So just told me.”
And Citi and the rest of us would never have known Husainova’s antisemitism and genocidal desires if America didn’t have the First Amendment. She knew her speech was protected speech. We learned about her because she had the right to spew her thoughts.
The First Amendment Protects Us in More Ways than One
Because we Americans have the right to free speech, we also have the opportunity to hear what others think and pass judgment on the nature of their character.
And yes, this is both good and bad. It’s the latter for those who reveal their dark interior only to find they must suffer the consequences of what they say. It’s the former because it’s a clarion that warns us about a potential and otherwise hidden danger. is Nozima Husainova a sleeper-cell terrorist? We don't know; probably she's not. But if I were Jewish or a supporter of Israel, I would not stand next to the subway tracks if I knew she stood behind me.
Let them speak their minds. It’s how we know them.
Thaler, Shannon. 19 Oct 2023. Citi fires banker over ‘revolting’ Israel remark: ‘No wonder why Hitler wanted to get rid of all of them’ New York Post. Online at https://nypost.com/2023/10/19/citi-fires-staffer-over-revolting-hitler-remark-on-israel/. Accessed October 20, 2023.
Before her termination, twenty-five year old Nozima Husainova made $75,000 annually as a “personal banker” at Citi, supposedly to “foster relations with customers.” Imagine being a Jewish customer with an account or business under her care. Imagine seeing her instagram post that read “No wonder why Hitler wanted to get rid of all of them.” Citi probably acted out of two motivations: 1) She certainly can’t foster relations with some of our customers, and 2) She is blatantly antisemitic, racist, and morally corrupt if she condones a massacre and a genocide.
How would an ordinary day at the office go had she not posted her remark? Well, maybe in the break room she might express her antisemitism and desire for genocide, but out among the offices and desks, the attractive young woman would have a pleasant, even jovial relationship. Maybe out among the others in the office, she would seem to be intelligent and ethical. She obviously pleased management enough to get the job two years ago.
Social Media Is a Priest Revealing the Confession
After Husainova made her comment, the world knew her psychological makeup, knew her dark interior, her murderous desires, and her lack of empathy for victims of an atrocity. The beast inside the beauty revealed itself.
And in her self-revelation, Husainova showed us another value of the First Amendment. Because people can freely “speak their minds,” we all have another mechanism to know who they are, really are. Instagram is not a private conversation whispered in the break room of Citi; it’s a megaphone in a mob, a pundit with widespread reach. And it’s as permanent as a gravestone carved from granodiorite. Social media is the priest emerging from the confessional and telling everyone in earshot, “Hey, you’ll never believe what So-n-So just told me.”
And Citi and the rest of us would never have known Husainova’s antisemitism and genocidal desires if America didn’t have the First Amendment. She knew her speech was protected speech. We learned about her because she had the right to spew her thoughts.
The First Amendment Protects Us in More Ways than One
Because we Americans have the right to free speech, we also have the opportunity to hear what others think and pass judgment on the nature of their character.
And yes, this is both good and bad. It’s the latter for those who reveal their dark interior only to find they must suffer the consequences of what they say. It’s the former because it’s a clarion that warns us about a potential and otherwise hidden danger. is Nozima Husainova a sleeper-cell terrorist? We don't know; probably she's not. But if I were Jewish or a supporter of Israel, I would not stand next to the subway tracks if I knew she stood behind me.
Let them speak their minds. It’s how we know them.
Thaler, Shannon. 19 Oct 2023. Citi fires banker over ‘revolting’ Israel remark: ‘No wonder why Hitler wanted to get rid of all of them’ New York Post. Online at https://nypost.com/2023/10/19/citi-fires-staffer-over-revolting-hitler-remark-on-israel/. Accessed October 20, 2023.
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