Ah, Black Friday. A tradition as American as apple pie—or would that be pumpkin pie?!? The one day of the year where throngs of people converge on their local strip malls, to strip the walls bear of merchandise.

It seems that people, when presented with a opportunity to get something for a large discount, will resort to some internal instinct to get that item no matter what it takes. This could be one explanation for the death of an employee trampled to death at a Nassau County, N.Y. Wal-Mart this Black Friday.

How low will people go in order to seize a good deal? We may never know. However, this may be a fleeting quandary.

Some say that cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving where online retailers have huge sales, will eventually supplant Black Friday in terms of popularity.

People may become sick and tired of having to endure large crowds and possibly getting shot, trampled or crushed when trying to obtain that $10 Blackberry or some certain assemblage of plastic and metal.

Additionally shoppers may revolt against the stores opening earlier and earlier. I saw some signs in stores at the Camarillo outlets saying that they were opening at midnight on Black Friday. Give me a break! Soon people will be pouring into the shopping malls of America before their turkey dinner is fully digested on Thanksgiving Day.

If next year on Black Friday more people are injured or killed, we will all question whether the black in Black Friday refers to the ledgers of retailers after they finally break even, or if it will refer to the color of clothing at a crushed shopper’s funeral.

Despite Cyber Monday’s competition, however, Black Friday will probably be a tradition for many Americans in opening the holiday season for the foreseeable future. And I am fine with that, as long as the holiday’s casualty rate does not increase. If it does, we have a serious problem.