How ironic is it that people will spend all of Thanksgiving day sitting around the table with their family, sharing what they are thankful for, and then hours later bust through the doors of a Best Buy to get a couple hundred bucks off the new “smart” touch screen TV that everyone has been talking about?

As of 2014, 60% of Americans say that they will or may shop between Thursday through Saturday to catch the Black Friday deals. Stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, and Sears open at 8 P.M. on Thanksgiving day, cutting into most families’ Thanksgiving dinners to allow shoppers to get a head start on the buying frenzy. Each year, scores of die-hard shoppers camp outside of  stores even days before Black Friday just to be the first in line.

By all means, I am not shunning anyone who participates in the Black Friday madness–but how far is too far?

Since 2006, there have been 9 deaths and 96 injuries that were reported to be Black Friday-related. From a man being trampled to death to a teen falling asleep at the wheel after shopping all night, it is no secret that Black Friday can be massively dangerous.

Hundreds of fights and riots break out each year in stores, some even ending in death. It seems that the chaos in the stores along with the stress from the holidays (and having your in-laws in town) brings out the worst in people, causing them to get violent and hot headed.

“At some point in time we all stopped caring about the deals and the holiday shopping and were pretty much just out for blood,” said Dana Marshall, a Target shopper who suffered seven broken ribs and a cracked sternum while fighting two other customers for a discounted camera. “I remember just sitting on top of a woman and smacking her head with a DVD player until her face was completely unrecognizable. I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

Next year before heading out to go shopping, or even if you plan on leaving your grandparents’ house early because you’re tired of your sweet Aunt Martha pinching your cheeks, think about the importance of family and the time you spend with them rather than beating down a blonde over a discounted pair of new shoes.

Years from now, I can almost guarantee that the people who spent quality time with their family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday will remember these memories much more than a pair of $200 designer jeans for which they had to risk their life.