November 25th is Black Friday all across the country and marks the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping season. This is the time when large businesses slash their prices and many savvy shoppers head out to find the perfect gift for the festive season. It is estimated that 150 million Americans do their shopping on Black Friday and spend a total of one billion dollars. The term ‘Black Friday’ is used because the color black represents making a profit in business. Although the prospect of good deals might be very tempting, some shoppers may change their mind when they hear the truth about this unofficial holiday.

This may not be surprising, but Black Friday is a very dangerous and even fatal day for many people. Since only 2006, seven people have died and 98 people have been hospitalized due to other Black Friday shoppers. Many of these injuries are caused by being trampled by crazed customers. That averages out to almost 10 reported injuries a year. This number of deaths and injuries should without a doubt be zero and many people would agree that a good deal is not worth losing your life over. The International Business Times found that 66% of these reported injuries were caused at the many Walmarts scattered around the nation. It is very intriguing why two thirds of these injuries come from the same chain of retail stores. Many Black Friday shoppers go so far as to equip themselves with pepper spray and tasers to repel any aggressors.

Many shoppers are used to these hostile conditions, but some may not have considered that several large retail stores are not even electing to participate in Black Friday. Some stores included in the large list are Costco, Barnes and Noble, IKEA, and GameStop. A possible reason that many stores are closing is the trend of Black Friday sales beginning earlier and earlier. A large number of staff is needed for crowd control on this busiest shopping day of the year. However, most employees want to spend time with family and watch football.

Speaking of spending time with family, Black Friday shoppers often will miss out on family gatherings just to snag a good deal. The whole point of the holidays is to come together with family members and celebrate. The holiday wouldn’t be as special if your grandma is getting trampled at Walmart. People should spend less time buying presents and spend more time with family.