> this obligation only exists because the company that stands to profit from it willed it into existence
No it does not! It exists because idiots go along with this senseless idea. It's the same idiots that jump in line like little marketing-driven robots every Valentina's day and every other holiday. It's almost as if people have an API call for "time to shop for some senseless shit".
In our own case, no diamond ring, no jewelry at all. We bought a frigging house, we spent a couple of weeks in the Caribean and a few weeks in Europe. There is no way a diamond or jewelry can compare to that. Oh, yes, no getting down on one knee either. What a demeaning way to start a relationship. If you want to show respect do it with the actions you take every day, not empty marketing-driven cargo-cult gestures.
As for my own daughter, we are going to teach her that a moron who spends his life savings on a diamond ring is just that and someone who can't reason his way out of a paper bag. What a horrible financial decision.
In jest now. Perhaps one could launch a marketing campaign to make people give programming courses as engagement gifts. Talk about a life-changing gift.
No it does not! It exists because idiots go along with this senseless idea. It's the same idiots that jump in line like little marketing-driven robots every Valentina's day and every other holiday. It's almost as if people have an API call for "time to shop for some senseless shit".
In our own case, no diamond ring, no jewelry at all. We bought a frigging house, we spent a couple of weeks in the Caribean and a few weeks in Europe. There is no way a diamond or jewelry can compare to that. Oh, yes, no getting down on one knee either. What a demeaning way to start a relationship. If you want to show respect do it with the actions you take every day, not empty marketing-driven cargo-cult gestures.
As for my own daughter, we are going to teach her that a moron who spends his life savings on a diamond ring is just that and someone who can't reason his way out of a paper bag. What a horrible financial decision.
In jest now. Perhaps one could launch a marketing campaign to make people give programming courses as engagement gifts. Talk about a life-changing gift.