Honesty and Transparency My Ass, Mother Teresa!

“Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.” — Mother Teresa

So this quote was shared from a page I like, which shares tons of great quotes and inspirational ideas all the time. However, this one seriously gave me a bad taste in my mouth. Literally “turned to ash” bad taste. While the quote itself is a nice uplifting statement, I found myself wanting to spit it back out of my head once I read who said it. I chose not to respond to the page itself as I tend to have a bizarre interpretation of things and didn't feel that it was the greatest place to vent my irritation.  And of course, you're probably asking, but what is so horrible about Mother Teresa? Wasn't she this great nun who helped the poor and whom Catholics all around the world are advocating for canonization?

First, I’m not Catholic, or even Christian for that matter, (shocker I know), but I could care less about what “religious” affiliation she had. However, I am a nurse. And the more I discover about this woman and the horrendous conditions her “houses of charity, for the sick and dying” have been and are in makes me want to vomit. She took billions in charity in the name of the sick and poor and did absolutely shit with it for those she said she was helping. Most houses and institutions were kept in squalor and no actual medical attention or medications were distributed in these places. In many instances people were actually made sicker by the conditions this “mother” subjected them to.  My point here is not to rehash all the evidence of this on my blog, Google it if you have no idea what I’m talking about, but rather to delve into why the hell this quote bugs me so much.

The second thing I have an issue with, and is made more pertinent by the fact that she was “Christian” is her statements. While oh so “enlightening” for the hordes of Catholics that worshiped the ground she walked on, they leave no doubt about her vindictive mindset. One of her famous sayings was that she “loved to see the suffering” and her bullshit justification was that it reminded her of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice and love. Really? No, you loved to see the suffering because you loved your billions of dollars even more and could keep it in your pocket because you did not spend a fucking dime of it on those you said you were taking care of.

Lastly, the most aggravating thing about this quote is that even though someone has an epiphany and makes a wise word choice, even rendering the statement empowering or a truism, the source of the quote or statement can severely negate the inspiring effects that were originally intended.  Just the idea of the above quote, honesty and transparency, coming from her, makes me want to laugh out loud. It truly is a great idea… to bad she neglected it in practice. The most beautiful and apt sayings have come from the most horrible people in the world. Take for instance, “Words build bridges into unexplored regions”. This is a very insightful message and I’d love to repeat it if it wasn't for the person that actually said it. Any guesses on where this saying came from?

 3…2…1 … Adolf Hitler.

Great quote, until you think of the millions of Jews that he slaughtered and the ensuing wars and plethora of other lives lost. It kind of makes me sick just too even quote the bastard. But there it is. Something wise said by one of the most “evil” men in the history of the human race.

I’m sure you’re thinking I’m a horrible person for comparing Mother-fucking-Teresa with Mother-fucking-Hitler, but I bet in a few years, everyone will pull the blindfold off, learn the truth about this woman and have no issue with it. I've watched and read the reports on Mother Teresa’s charity houses, which is only the tip of the iceberg of her sorely lacking benevolent spirit and it leaves me with a nasty taste in my mouth probably from the regurgitating bile in my stomach.