Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine's day, even when I'm single. Admittedly, a lot of this is because of the holiday's proximity to my birthday (which is hands down my favorite holiday... yes I consider my birthday a holiday. We celebrate Christ's birthday as a holiday so I don't see why we can't celebrate my birth like it's a holiday) I do, however, recognize that many people I know really don't like Valentine's day. So this goes out to all of you V-day haters, a big swig of haterade in honor of your least favorite holiday (Debbie Downer alert):

*Erectile dysfunction occurs in many men as they age, with sexual functioning decreasing sharply after age 50. So if it's not good now, it only gets worse from here.

*Much of the $13 billion in Chocolate that will be consumed this year comes from cocoa beans grown by child slaves.

*Diamonds (as anyone who has ever listend to Kanye's song Diamonds are Forever should know) help to fuel civil wars in Sierra Leone -- not to mention that diamond mining is harmful to the environment and due to their relative abundance, they are essentially valueless.

*Flowers are drenched in pesticides (some of which have been banned in the US) that are harmful to the people (largely women) who work with them -- even killing 200 workers in 2003.

*The HIV/AIDS infection rate is on the rise in the US, and is particularly high in Washington, D.C.

*Intimate partner violence affects 1 in 5 women: 22% of women are physically assaulted by a partner or date during their lifetime and nearly 5.3 million partner victimizations occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older. Worse, in the nineties, homicide was a leading cause of injury-related death for pregnant women. Kind of puts a whole new perspective on being single.

I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit because I just depressed the hell out of myself. Sorry to ruin your Valentine's day.


For a more humorous slant on this festive day and it's suckery, try Bennett Madison's book, which I have not read but assume has less references to unfair labor practices and violence than this blog. Also, you can find more anti-V-day cards like the one shown above here.