Long ago, before most of us could even drive, Black Friday was just that: on a Friday. The past few years, it has been getting earlier and earlier and a little more ridiculous. Black Friday is meant to kick off the Christmas shopping season, yet the sales make even the nicest people want to fight someone to get what they need.

My mother told me a story about the one and only year she went Black Friday shopping. It was at Target, early 2000’s in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and she was shopping for the whole family at 5am. She saw two soccer moms get into a fistfight over the last PlayStation that had to be broken up by employees. She never went Black Friday shopping again. Back then, the stores didn’t open until early in the morning, around 4 or 5am.

In 2008, New York WalMarts’ “doorbuster” deals became literal when about 2,000 shoppers broke down the doors while waiting, causing an employee that night to be trampled to death. That was the first recorded Black Friday-caused death in the US.

Over the years, guns have been pulled frequently at WalMart and ToysRUs. Although it can happen anywhere, if you are looking for smaller crowds, check out a local shop instead.

Starting in 2011, stores took to new extremes, opening at midnight. This has spun earlier and earlier with stores opening at 10pm or even 8pm on Thanksgiving. I am still eating my pie at 8 so you can bet that will trump shopping.

Now stores are starting to open at 6pm on Thanksgiving Day. Isn’t the whole point for it to be the day after Thanksgiving? I’m pretty sure that is why it’s called Black Friday. Six o’clock is prime dinnertime; who in their right minds is going shopping then? Well, probably the fist-fighting soccer moms, but still, these stores need boundaries. Macy’s, Kohls, and WalMart will all be open at 6pm this year. I really hope to see some people bringing a full turkey dinner and all the fixings with them if they go at that time.