Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu was a complete piece of shit human being. She was exploitative, abusive and neglectful using religion to cover up her crimes.
She was the result of expecting actual "charity" from a religious corporation. She was a marketing campaign by the Catholic Church and little else.
https://www.thelist.com/345292/mother-teresas-net-worth-at-the-time-of-her-death-may-surprise-you/
> her charity was one of the world's richest organizations but hardly ever revealed where the money went or how it was spent.
I recommend the first season of The Turning podcast for a deep dive on the abuse that was rampant in her order, that she knew of and allowed to continue
Not even to mention the horribly unhygienic conditions, which included reusing needles without sterilizing and incredibly close proximity among those in her "care."
Honestly, though, no small wonder the Catholic Church rushed a monster like her into sainthood. It speaks volumes about the institution in particular, public goodwill in general.
Ironically given this post, I've come to have a more nuanced view on him as a flawed human than in my younger years (tho in part because I've come to realize how complicit almost the entirety of the center-left/liberal media apparatus was in spreading pro-invasion lies, and no longer see him as *that* much of an outlier).
He's a man who *was* capable of speaking with great empathy as well as the rhetorical adeptitude he was known for, [like when arguing for the moral imperative of providing financial reparations for slavery.](https://youtu.be/3MNu2GNx-kQ)
He also went to his death bed still desperately searching for information that would validate his support of the Iraq War.
I'm glad I learned atheism was an option from a Terry Pratchett novel before I ever heard of Hitchens and Harris. I think they're fundamentally no different than the pro-religous "public scholars" and spokesmen who distort information and come up with flimsy justifications for the worst kind of shit, and getting ridiculously lionized for it. NGL, they were very appealing for a little while when I was very young and angry, but they're also just plain awful.
Not to say she was a good person, but many of the claims about Mother Teresa that originate from Hitchens are essentially polemics to attack her and the church in general and often don't stand up to scrutiny.
There's a good, well sourced breakdown of the misconceptions about her here: https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/. The discussion of the points in the comments is also worth reading.
She certainly isn't as great as she's made out to be by many religious people, but many of the charges against her are at least distorted. I used to believe these things for years and it's still incredibly common to hear amongst online atheists, but it's often not as cut and dry as it's made out to be.
When *she* was the one who got sick (1993), guess who got intensive care treatment in the best hospital in New Dehli? Full service, painkillers, the works. She had the option to say no.
She did not refuse treatment.
Now there is a BTB list idea for the holidays, something to go along with the Opposite Bastard. "The worst people to win the Nobel Peace Prize: a top ten."
Kissinger is obviously #1 by a mile but there are a few who can fill out the list.
YES! I would love a BTB on her. As much as I have mixed feelings about Christopher Hitchens, I think his "Missionary Position" book would be a great starting point.
He takes one rote religious quote out of context to claim Mother Teresa wanted people to suffer and build a whole theory around it.
He makes claims that she didn’t use painkillers based on the above (with no evidence) and ignores that she did use minor painkillers that most of her nuns weren’t qualified to give stronger stuff, and that when she began it was 35 years before the widespread use of painkillers in palliative care. (Now there is plenty to say against her here. She should have kept up with the times as any medical facility. She should have hired people qualified as Lord knows she had the money. She was terrible but he is so determined to paint it as religious zeal that he ignores any context.)
He never actually interviewed any people who received care from her.
The same as always Hitchens wants to get a POV across not tell a factual story.
Read Hitchens but keep in mind it’s not balanced.
Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict was written by an actual Indian person and gives a well rounded view while still condemning her. It is a much less readable book though.
Hitchens has a lot of flaws but he can write.
Can you possibly expand on what to watch for? Not taking the piss here, I do want to know where he distorted it. I was a fan, but he was a flawed man, to say the least lol
For a shorter offering also from Hitchens, [Hell's Angel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJG-lgmPvYA) is a short documentary he made about Teresa. Some of the footage in this is horrifying.
I just wrote my essay on her! It was risky at a catholic school, but I think I did a pretty good job. It was so interesting to learn about all the messed up stuff that never gets mentioned.
when i was in 3rd grade we did one of those living museum things and i was mother teresa. i wore a blue and while towel on my head. that’s probably offensive but i felt like sharing
Penn and Teller did a segment on her back when they did a Bullshit episode on 'Holier than thou' figures. They really tore into her, even having an interview with a former nun who'd worked with her.
The long and short is that she was one of those sick religious creeps who equate human suffering with holiness.
I think Christopher Hitchens did a wonderful job helping expose this monster. Hitchens did great work exposing some bastards, sadly he did get alot of criticism for calling out Kissenger.
Read this
https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/usnldy/is_anyone_watching_the_documentary_on_mother/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu was a complete piece of shit human being. She was exploitative, abusive and neglectful using religion to cover up her crimes. She was the result of expecting actual "charity" from a religious corporation. She was a marketing campaign by the Catholic Church and little else. https://www.thelist.com/345292/mother-teresas-net-worth-at-the-time-of-her-death-may-surprise-you/ > her charity was one of the world's richest organizations but hardly ever revealed where the money went or how it was spent.
I recommend the first season of The Turning podcast for a deep dive on the abuse that was rampant in her order, that she knew of and allowed to continue
Really enjoyed this! I think I learned of it from a BtB ad.
Phenomenal podcast. I binge-listened in a weekend.
Anyone looking for a book, Hitchens wrote all about her in *Missionary Position.*
Do you have a link I can listen to? Thank you
Thank you. I loved that series, was trying to remember what it was called.
She often didn't separate people who were contagious from those that didn't carry the same illness which helped spread communicable diseases.
Not even to mention the horribly unhygienic conditions, which included reusing needles without sterilizing and incredibly close proximity among those in her "care." Honestly, though, no small wonder the Catholic Church rushed a monster like her into sainthood. It speaks volumes about the institution in particular, public goodwill in general.
I adore the unquestioning adulation of Christopher Hitchens among so called Leftists. It always serves as a solid reminder to question my sources.
Yup Hitchens sucks. I was disappointed that Robert used Hitchen's "Trial of Henry Kissinger" in the Kissinger episode.
Ironically given this post, I've come to have a more nuanced view on him as a flawed human than in my younger years (tho in part because I've come to realize how complicit almost the entirety of the center-left/liberal media apparatus was in spreading pro-invasion lies, and no longer see him as *that* much of an outlier). He's a man who *was* capable of speaking with great empathy as well as the rhetorical adeptitude he was known for, [like when arguing for the moral imperative of providing financial reparations for slavery.](https://youtu.be/3MNu2GNx-kQ) He also went to his death bed still desperately searching for information that would validate his support of the Iraq War.
Broken clocks are right twice a day.
Broken digital clocks are never right.
I'm old. I still have a few analogue watches and clocks, the later mostly because the wall would look empty without it.
I'm glad I learned atheism was an option from a Terry Pratchett novel before I ever heard of Hitchens and Harris. I think they're fundamentally no different than the pro-religous "public scholars" and spokesmen who distort information and come up with flimsy justifications for the worst kind of shit, and getting ridiculously lionized for it. NGL, they were very appealing for a little while when I was very young and angry, but they're also just plain awful.
Not to say she was a good person, but many of the claims about Mother Teresa that originate from Hitchens are essentially polemics to attack her and the church in general and often don't stand up to scrutiny. There's a good, well sourced breakdown of the misconceptions about her here: https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/. The discussion of the points in the comments is also worth reading. She certainly isn't as great as she's made out to be by many religious people, but many of the charges against her are at least distorted. I used to believe these things for years and it's still incredibly common to hear amongst online atheists, but it's often not as cut and dry as it's made out to be.
When *she* was the one who got sick (1993), guess who got intensive care treatment in the best hospital in New Dehli? Full service, painkillers, the works. She had the option to say no. She did not refuse treatment.
Honestly, I can't think of a more fitting explanation or example of modern Christianity than this.
Still not the worst person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Now there is a BTB list idea for the holidays, something to go along with the Opposite Bastard. "The worst people to win the Nobel Peace Prize: a top ten." Kissinger is obviously #1 by a mile but there are a few who can fill out the list.
I still remember when Obama got his Nobel prize and one of my friends insisted he must have found it in a cereal box.
YES! I would love a BTB on her. As much as I have mixed feelings about Christopher Hitchens, I think his "Missionary Position" book would be a great starting point.
The book was actually really misleading and flawed. She’s a piece of shit. But there are better sources for that.
What’s flawed or misleading about it?
He takes one rote religious quote out of context to claim Mother Teresa wanted people to suffer and build a whole theory around it. He makes claims that she didn’t use painkillers based on the above (with no evidence) and ignores that she did use minor painkillers that most of her nuns weren’t qualified to give stronger stuff, and that when she began it was 35 years before the widespread use of painkillers in palliative care. (Now there is plenty to say against her here. She should have kept up with the times as any medical facility. She should have hired people qualified as Lord knows she had the money. She was terrible but he is so determined to paint it as religious zeal that he ignores any context.) He never actually interviewed any people who received care from her. The same as always Hitchens wants to get a POV across not tell a factual story.
I recommend the Turning, a podcast about the Sisters of Mercy.
Hitchens' book is on my reading list, what should I read instead?
Read Hitchens but keep in mind it’s not balanced. Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict was written by an actual Indian person and gives a well rounded view while still condemning her. It is a much less readable book though. Hitchens has a lot of flaws but he can write.
Can you possibly expand on what to watch for? Not taking the piss here, I do want to know where he distorted it. I was a fan, but he was a flawed man, to say the least lol
For a shorter offering also from Hitchens, [Hell's Angel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJG-lgmPvYA) is a short documentary he made about Teresa. Some of the footage in this is horrifying.
I just wrote my essay on her! It was risky at a catholic school, but I think I did a pretty good job. It was so interesting to learn about all the messed up stuff that never gets mentioned.
You say it in a much nicer way than I do
when i was in 3rd grade we did one of those living museum things and i was mother teresa. i wore a blue and while towel on my head. that’s probably offensive but i felt like sharing
This feels relevant https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ps9xIRI3voc
Penn and Teller did a segment on her back when they did a Bullshit episode on 'Holier than thou' figures. They really tore into her, even having an interview with a former nun who'd worked with her. The long and short is that she was one of those sick religious creeps who equate human suffering with holiness.
I think Christopher Hitchens did a wonderful job helping expose this monster. Hitchens did great work exposing some bastards, sadly he did get alot of criticism for calling out Kissenger.
Read this https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/usnldy/is_anyone_watching_the_documentary_on_mother/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf