Valentine's Day haters

You know them: The people who savor their Valentine's Day hatred not by burrowing in a dark room, but by flaunting an "alternative" holiday.

Single People Rock Day. Relationships Are Stupid Day. I Love Hamburger Helper Day.

They think they're being clever. They think they're moving the attention away from the traditional Hallmark-inspired emphasis of Feb. 14.

But they're not. And frankly, Valentine's Day haters really annoy me.

They complain about the holiday, but essentially only increase its popularity by acknowledging it's a day that needs to be celebrated some way.

One Gawker blogger agrees. The Web site recently published a post titled "The only thing worse than Valentine's Day is people who hate Valentine's Day." An excerpt:

These people think that they are going to do something to change the couple-centric world that we live in, but all that they're doing is giving credence to it. It's like scowling at the concept but sneaking handfuls of chalky conversation hearts while all their fellow black-wearers go to change The Smiths record.

My hatred of Valentine's Day haters isn't because I'm in a relationship. In fact, prior to about three years ago, I had spent every Valentine's Day alone.

Crying over "The Notebook," rather than celebrating Spice Girls Are Better Than A Boyfriend Day.