That Goddamn Flower Guy at the Restaurant
Valentines Day, like many other days that force human action, interaction and expectation, is yet another trap invented by business to extort money from human beings. It is the equivalent of a having a thief threaten you with bodily harm unless you hand over your wallet. You have no choice but to give money away to bring yourself back to neutral. Of course, you’re not neutral since you have less money. Am I being a little extreme? Hardly.
As the Buddhists know, humans are in an endless cycle of seeing something, having desire and being unhappy and consuming something to become neutral again. Now, advertisers bombard people all the time with images that make them less happy. Are they evil too? Well, yes, they promote crime and make the world a worse place, but at least they fund television and radio programs and subsidize the price of magazines and newspapers. For the unhappiness that they cause, people do get something out of it.
Valentines day is just like that asshole that bothers you at the restaurant with the flowers. He comes over, interrupts your life, makes you awkward and leaves you with a no win dilemma. You either buy the flower and look like a tool who was pressured by society to buy something cheesy or you look cheap. He makes money off of bringing pain to the world.
Couples get nothing out of Valentines Day because gift exchange is expected. Unlike Christmas, where gifts can have utility, Valentines Day gifts are notably useless- jewelry, flowers, and cards. The best you can do is give chocolate. On top of this, there is a keep up with the Joneses aspect where you have to beat everyone else’s gifts and the gifts you have previous given.
For the single, this day is living hell as they are constantly reminded about their solitude. The day is most vicious to children where teachers force them to give valentines to each other and they stress about how they will be interpreted.
Bah Humbug
As the Buddhists know, humans are in an endless cycle of seeing something, having desire and being unhappy and consuming something to become neutral again. Now, advertisers bombard people all the time with images that make them less happy. Are they evil too? Well, yes, they promote crime and make the world a worse place, but at least they fund television and radio programs and subsidize the price of magazines and newspapers. For the unhappiness that they cause, people do get something out of it.
Valentines day is just like that asshole that bothers you at the restaurant with the flowers. He comes over, interrupts your life, makes you awkward and leaves you with a no win dilemma. You either buy the flower and look like a tool who was pressured by society to buy something cheesy or you look cheap. He makes money off of bringing pain to the world.
Couples get nothing out of Valentines Day because gift exchange is expected. Unlike Christmas, where gifts can have utility, Valentines Day gifts are notably useless- jewelry, flowers, and cards. The best you can do is give chocolate. On top of this, there is a keep up with the Joneses aspect where you have to beat everyone else’s gifts and the gifts you have previous given.
For the single, this day is living hell as they are constantly reminded about their solitude. The day is most vicious to children where teachers force them to give valentines to each other and they stress about how they will be interpreted.
Bah Humbug
posted by American Dilettante at
10:46 PM
1 Comments:
Commerce is the buying and selling of a good. It should not be the threat of having a bad being enforced on you.
When you don't spend money on crap, you can spend it on useful things that actually make the world a better place (say a hybrid car or cures for diseases) or on things that can make your life better (tuition, a house, an IRA, a computer).
By
American Dilettante, at 1:11 AM
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