Valentine's Day Inherently Unromantic

An old high school friend of mine just described Valentine’s Day as “syrupy and materialistic.” She’s right! VD is such a cringy, inherently unromantic contrivance … another byproduct of capitalism designed to trick working folks into spending more money on cheap crap they would never otherwise buy.

Illustration created using ChatGPT

Having said that, I admit I caved and put some roses and a few dark chocolates on the kitchen table last night after my partner went to bed. I did something similar for my daughter.

We do these things for each other every year on this day, actually, despite our shared disdain for bullsh*t commercialism and the uncool. I suppose we are hopeless cogs in the profit machine. Our brains are at least partially hard-wired.

I hope you all have a happy day in whatever way you choose (or choose not) to celebrate. ♥︎

Note: Image added in 2025.