Bitches bitch'n'

Let's go with plan B

As a general rule, gloating at someone else's personal failure is not a good look; schadenfreude is pretty mean-spirited without context. There are exceptions, however, and Elizabeth Holmes is one of mine.

That her company, Theranos, went tits-up is of little direct interest; it could never deliver on its promise, because it was a scam built on a web of lies and deceit. The fact that she's a woman is irrelevant; truly successful female business leaders are to be as lauded as any male equivalent. Even her affectation of a Steve Jobs facade, pathetic and creepy as it is, isn't that problematic.

No, the reason that I revel in Holmes's comeuppance is her narcissistic hubris. In particular, her advice to a group of business students, to avoid backup plans: I think that the minute that you have a backup plan, you've admitted that you're not going to succeed.

Au contraire, Betty, a backup plan not only means that you're wary, forward-thinking, and strategising, it means that you're not a self-absorbed, arrogant fool. In this case, one who not only committed fraud, but who also put patients' lives at risk.

I scornfully laugh at your demise, Betty, for you're full of shit. Above all else, though, I hope that none of those students, nor anyone who looked up to you, took your advice.

And, if the concept of schadenfreude didn't already exist, it would have to be created, just for this occasion. (pipe)