V for Valentine? V for Violence?

Ah, yes. It's that time of year. That time with the over priced chocolates at Woolies sharing space with the bunny rabbits and eggs waiting for Easter. The time when no restaurant can accommodate a reservation that was not booked at least six months in advance and various card and gift companies have an opportunity to rake in some extra cash to prepare for the slump that caused accountants to gasp in pain in January. Yes, indeed. It's one of the most cleverly made up 'holidays' ever created: Valentine's Day

It's (supposedly) a day of love, romance, seduction and passion. The story told about St Valentine, who the day is named after, is that he would perform weddings for those who could not afford the big ceremony. At least, that's one of the legends. Very romantic indeed. Which is a lot more of this:

Adorable, yes?

.... than this, which is the most likely fate of Valentine: an afternoon bludgeoning:

Not-so-romantic torture and murder of a Christian martyr



I am one of those who believes that Valentine's Day was one of those pagan holidays that the Catholic Church chose to claim as their own, since the converts seemed to like it so much. Valentine's Day falls on the Roman feast of Lupercalia, a veritable orgy of debauchery and lust. Which sounds a little more like it, and a little more like something the Church would prefer to soften. And discourage.





Those pesky pagans having sex all the time.



So, it would seem that the holiday is born out of two mindsets: sex and violence. Which is why it strikes me as rather odd that  a mass protest/uprising against rape is planned by V-Day.Org for that specific day.

There is no way I can express things better than Lesley Perkes did in an article on Daily Maverick.

I won't be taking part in any marches against rape. I stand for respect for women, men and children. Respect for boundaries, respect for bodies and souls that live within those bodies. Yes, I can turn up at this protest suitably angry. I can carry my placard and march until my feet bleed. I can talk about my own experience and share tears with my sisters. But I won't. As cathartic as such an experience may be. Because regardless, the 'ordinary' guys who would 'never dream of raping a woman' will still see us like this:

 

And worse still, so will most of us.