*eyeroll*

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Y’know, the guy on the Daily Show tonight talking about Mother Teresa is right on about her being rather a terrible person, but for crying out loud, going after postage stamps? That’s just dumb.

ETA: Most hilariously angry guest EVER.

Comments

[gethenian.livejournal.com]

wait... what?

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Daily Show today was making fun of a guy who is fighting Mother Teresa's commemoration on a postage stamp. While Mother Teresa was indeed a horrible person, it seems kinda petty to go after a stamp of her.

[gethenian.livejournal.com]

Mother Theresa was a horrible person?

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Yup. It was like a martyr complex by proxy. Her hospices had extremely poor living conditions and no sanitation, denied patients painkillers, and made no attempt to save patients with curable problems. She was against contraception and abortion. She believed that suffering was holy and thus, well, helped her patients get more holy. And it can't be that she couldn't afford those basic necessities for her patients: huge donations to her charity sat in her own bank accounts, except when she used them for her own expensive health care.

Not exactly the humanitarian she's made out to be.

[willowistari.livejournal.com]

Yeah man you're not kidding. Took me ages to find something that wasn't biased, and damn.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

Aside from all of your other points She was against contraception and abortion seems so odd. I mean, I dunno, it's papal espoused dogma-- I don't really feel like I can criticise someone who is basically an officer of the Church to go against such a party line. I don't personally hold such beliefs BUT I don't think anyone believing such things is inherently evil, or horrible, and I think stating this as if it is an example of her horribleness weakens any case about the other issues.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

You make a good point that it's part of the Catholic dogma--but it seems like a lot of her ideals sprouted from a dogma that isn't at heart evil--like "suffering is good for the soul" or "blessed are the poor." It's just how she wound up interpreting it--in this case it struck me as part of the overall image of someone whose dogma eclipses true compassion. The same message to those dying of infection in her unsanitary hospices was extended to women whose lives had been thrown off by a pregnancy: "SUCK IT UP, LIFE'S A BITCH."

But you're right, I said that badly--it isn't her "being against" contraception and abortion alone that makes me angry; it's the consequences imposed upon those under her care that stunned me. Thanks for the point.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

Aaah, that makes much more sense, and I absolutely agree entirely.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

BAH! That last sentence should be "Thanks for pointing that out." Hurr time for go to bed.

[gethenian.livejournal.com]

Huh.

That... frankly does not actually surprise me all that much. Similar things went on in the school I went to.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

Can you recommend some reading on this?

[willowistari.livejournal.com]

I never really bothered to research her. I must remedy this! *google-fu!*

[asqmh.livejournal.com]

Why not try to short-circuit her bid for beatification? Or eventual saint hood? Seriously, the fairly newly Bl. Theresa prolly doesn't give a rip about US postage stamps....

[blackbyrd2.livejournal.com]

I keep forgetting that this knowledge of the 'seamy underbelly' of Mother Theresa isn't well known, thanks to Catholic and media whitewashing. Then I read your comment threads and remember.
It's nice to see that occasionally, LJ does indeed educate people, and that a difference is being made, even if it's a small one. Sometimes I feel like all I do is preach to the choir. Thanks. :)

[tomatocaco.livejournal.com]

I actually went to one of Dan Barker's presentations when he was on his book tour last year. He seemed like a thoughtful, intelligent guy then, so...seeing him make a fool of himself now is disappointing. :C