Valentine's Day? No Sir, I Don't Like It.

Well, it’s almost that time of year again. That special day where every man says, “See honey, flowers and candy! It shows I still love you! Now let’s hit the sack”. It’s a truly special day. For the first time in as long as I can remember I am going to be single (and in the Philippines) on Valentine’s Day, and this in no way upsets me. I was never one of those ‘to hell with Valentine’s Day’ folks, but I was never a very strong supporter either. I was more of an apathetic participant: forced into a ritual with complete indifference. It didn’t bother me one way or the other that Valentine’s Day forced me to plan a special night for my loved one. But, now as I reflect on Valentine’s Day, (I’m sick of typing that, so I’m calling it V-Day from here on out) and what I am and am not missing out on, I realize that I’m not as apathetic as I once believed. In fact, I now realize that I’m (on some level) completely opposed to it. I realize that I’m not exactly breaking new ground with this topic, but allow me to explain my reasoning.

Google Image Search at its finest. I oppose this.

Valentine’s Day forces you to act in a certain way. Now some of you may be thinking that no one is forced to do anything they don’t want to do, and that those who choose not to participate are free to do so. I feel that this is not completely solid reasoning. It is true that no one is physically forced to participate in V-Day, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no V-Day Mafia to encourage non-believers. But, for those of us who choose not to adhere to laws of V-Day there are repercussions. If your girlfriend (and let’s get real now; I’ve never ever met a guy who gave a flying shit about V-Day) likes the concept of V-Day and expects to celebrate it then you are going to celebrate it. If you don't celebrate then one of two outcomes is likely to happen:

1) Your girlfriend will get mad, possibly calling you selfish and uncaring. You fail.

2) Your girlfriend will say nothing, but will be secretly hurt and disappointed that you wouldn't make a small effort to make her happy. Shame on you.

A third, less likely, outcome might be that your girlfriend doesn't care about V-Day either, and as such, treats the day like any other. In my experience, this is far less likely to happen than the other two outcomes, but should not be completely discredited. I know a few women who don't follow V-Day, although they are in the definite minority.

So, unless your girlfriend is in the third category minority, you have successfully disappointed and hurt your girlfriend. Congratulations, you are officially an asshole. Now, I don't think most people would want to intentionally hurt their girlfriends, so they go along with V-Day just to please them. It makes them happy and that makes you happy. Congratulations again, you have officially been forced into participation.

Boooooooooooooooooo!!

Some of you may be thinking that V-Day is just one day and that I`m probably making too much fuss about one crumby day. This is also not completely solid reasoning. It is true that V-Day is only one day of the year, but if you are doing a good job as a boyfriend then V-Day isn't necessary anyway. The whole point of V-Day is to show that special person that you love/care for them. The whole day is then rendered unnecessary if, as a boyfriend, you aren’t a total bag of shit the rest of the year and are doing things that let your loved one know that you care. If you are in a relationship with a guy who you think is absolutely solid, loves you, and makes you feel special, then ask yourself this question, “Why is Valentine’s Day so important to me?” If your answer is, “Because it’s Valentine’s Day”, I think you need to ask the question again.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter if you do or do not celebrate V-Day. It’s not an important enough holiday to deserve a lot of thought anyway. I’m merely trying to explain why I have come to feel that V-day is a crock of shit. I’ll be the first to admit that I involve myself in holidays, the roots of which I am not a strong follower of (Christmas) or do not understand to the greatest extent (St. Patrick’s Day), so think of my Valentine’s Day rant as an argument against that particular day (and what it currently means) and not of the idea of celebrating other holidays with muddled origins or strained personal connection (which V-Day certainly is).

Happy Valentine’s Day Everybody!!!

Exactly.