A mother-of-two has faced a storm of criticism after revealing she refused to return her shopping cart.
Leslie Dobson, a Los Angeles-based psychologist and social media creator with more than 300,000 followers across platforms, posted a controversial message on TikTok on Thursday.
“I’m not returning my basket and you can judge me all you want,” she said in a clip that has racked up nearly 11 million views.
“I don’t put my groceries in my car, I don’t put my kids in the car and I don’t leave them in the car to go return the cart.” So if you want to give me a dirty look…fuck you.’
As the backlash mounted, Dobson – the mother of a two-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter – created another video to hit back at her critics.
Los Angeles-based psychologist and social media creator Leslie Dobson took the internet by storm after sharing that she refuses to return shopping carts.
The mother-of-two, pictured with her son, daughter and husband, claimed she feared her children would be taken away if she left them alone when returning her trolley.
“It’s May 31st and about six million people are freaking out because I’m not returning my shopping cart because my kids are in the car,” she said in a clip posted to Instagram.
“So I want to give you some statistics. Last year, 265 children were abducted from parking lots in the United States. Half of them were sexually assaulted.
Although Dobson doesn’t cite his source, the statistic appears to come from a report from a nonprofit called Kids and Car Safety.
The group claimed to have determined this number by “reviewing news reports” and acknowledged that law enforcement does not keep statistics on children abducted in this manner, indicating the figure was unreliable.
“As a single mother who returns your shopping cart, you are an ideal predator to watch over you and catch you,” Dobson continued.
She shares two children with her husband Wesley Cook, a clinical psychologist.
Dobson then provided another excuse: Returning a cart means leaving a car running and unoccupied, which is illegal in some states.
“A lot of the comments were saying they were going to turn the car on, let the air on the kids and go bring the shopping cart back,” she said. “Well, in Los Angeles, in one particular parking lot, that’s at least a 12-minute walk. You could go to jail.
Dobson, who is married, said single mothers returning their shopping carts were “perfect for a predator to watch you and catch you.”
To support her claims about child abduction, she cited unverified statistics from a nonprofit organization that reached its conclusions by “reviewing the news.”
California’s vehicle code does not allow a car to park on a highway or public road, largely as a measure to prevent motor vehicle theft.
In Sacramento, rather than Los Angeles, it is a misdemeanor to leave the ignition key in a vehicle unattended in any public place, including parking lots.
“Reports from the Bureau of Justice indicate that 10 percent of crimes occur in parking lots,” Dobson continued, citing another unverified figure commonly used in security company advertisements.
“If you come to a parking lot, you should look at the lighting. You should look at the security guards. You should look at how the parking lot is laid out. If you feel safe, go and return your cart,” she said.
“If you feel unsafe, trust your instincts, trust your intuition and keep yourself and your family safe. It’s not worth the judgment you will receive.
“There are real lawyers who specialize in parking lot crimes and they sue grocery stores and guess what? I was one of those cases. So if you want to be ignorant, go ahead.
Dobson was prompted to post her response after commenters on the original video lambasted her apparent laziness and entitlement.
Several users referenced the “basket theory,” which holds that the decision to return or abandon a shopping cart is indicative of a person’s moral character.
Dobson was lambasted by netizens who referenced the “basket theory”, which states that returning a basket is a litmus test of a person’s character.
“Little things like this show a person’s character,” one TikTok user remarked. “I’m not a parent but even if it rains or snows, I return my basket.”
“There’s a secret third option: You unload the groceries and, together with the kids, return the cart – also teaching them how to do it as a byproduct,” another user joked.
One woman wrote that she was a disabled single mother who relied on the shopping cart for walking, “and still walks the cart to the corral and limps back to my car.”
Another user wrote that she was still returning her shopping cart despite having balance problems due to chemotherapy treatment.
Dobson responded to this user and several others with the same comment.
“I want women to feel empowered to trust their intuition if they feel insecure and ignore judgment,” she wrote.
“The risk is not worth it and our lives are precious. I saw lives destroyed. I hope you never do.
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