There are a lot of reasons why I don't go Black Friday shopping. Most of them have to do with how lazy I am and the fact that I won't stand outside in the cold for hours or even days on end for anything. Plus claustrophobia sets in just thinking about being in a store during this time of the year. I would be that person who freaks out and punches someone, not because I was trying to get the last product on the shelf but because it would have been the nine millionth time someone touched me due to the amount of people in the store.

I have been out on Black Friday once and to be honest, it was an accident. My mom and I went out to buy milk and when we got to the store it was PACKED. We were really confused but when I saw what people were buying -- things that were normally the most expensive things in the store -- I put the pieces together and promptly screamed to my mother over the commotion that it was Black Friday.

My experience with Black Friday wasn't as bad as some other people have experienced. Here is a list of deaths and injuries that occurred due to Black Friday:

1. Former Marine Stabbed in Best Buy Store by Violent Customer.

This man was collecting toys for the Toys For Tots charity with two other marines, when a shoplifter who had attempted to steal a laptop during Black Friday ran to the exit. The marines clothes-lined the criminal in an attempt to subdue him. The shoplifter then stabbed Cpl. Phillip Duggan in the back in an attempt to flee the scene. According to reports, the cut from the knife wasn't that bad and only needed a few stitches and the marines were able to successfully subdue the shoplifter after the incident.

2. Violent Walmart Pepper-Spray Attack Injures 20 People.

In the Los Angeles area a woman brought pepper spray to her local Walmart as an act of "competitive shopping'. She was hoping it would help her get a leg up on the other people who were there. She used the pepper spray in several parts of the store trying to get heavily discounted items. At least seven of the people sprayed directly in the face needed to receive medical attention. According to an eye witness the spray hung in the air and made it hard to breathe even if you hadn't been the intended target.

3. Virginia Man Stabbed Over a Parking Space.

Now I've seen family members get angry over parking spaces, but never to this extent. Apparently, in West Virginia two men got into an argument over a parking space during the Black Friday season. As you can imagine, there aren't a lot of spaces available during this time of the year so things escalated pretty quickly. The two men involved were 61-year-old Ronnie Sharp, and 35-year-old Christopher Jackson. During the argument Sharp used a knife to cut Jackson's arm down to the bone --an image I didn't need in my head. Apparently the use of a firearm was also threatened during the altercation. Both men were arrested -- after Jackson received the proper medical attention -- and luckily no one died over a stupid space in a tar lot.

4. Argument Over a Television Ends with Pepper-Spray.

Televisions are probably one of the things people go after the most at Walmart during the Black Friday season. My older sister worked at a Walmart and during Black Friday a woman threatened to run her over with her cart in order to get to the Televisions faster. Apparently Richard Ramoswas overheard by police -- who were dealing with another incident of a woman with a child spitting on another woman's child -- screaming obscenities at an employee. Police tried to subdue him but he attacked one of the officers and eventually had to be taken down with pepper spray.

5. Walter Vance's Body Stepped Over by Black Friday Shoppers.

This is a story I remember hearing about when I was younger. Walter Vance collapsed in a Target during Black Friday due to a previously diagnosed heart condition. His body went almost unnoticed during the sales and he later died in the hospital. There are claims from his wife that there were a few nurses in the store who ran to his aid, and that the media over-exaggerated the whole thing. However, know ing how people behave during this time of year it wouldn't surprise me if the whole story were true. Yes a few nurses came to his aid but what of those who didn't stop to help? There were probably plenty of other people who saw what was going on and did nothing but carry on with their shopping. How many people stepped over him before someone came to his rescue?

Overall, I never go out on Black Friday on purpose because these are the kind of people who are out during that time. Did anyone notice I said that a woman spit on another woman's child? What is wrong with people!? Who taught us that there is ever a time when this is an appropriate way to behave? I don't care if they're selling the fountain of youth for ten dollars, there is never a time when you should behave as the people I mentioned have.

According to the Black Friday death count there have been 98 injuries and 7 deaths since 2006. Here's to hoping that we don't add to that count this year.