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6th June 2024
03:26pm BST
A mum has sparked criticism from people on social media after she posted a video online revealing that she doesn’t return her trolley to the trolley bay at the supermarket.
In a TikTok posted on 30 May, Leslie Dobson unleashed a rant declaring: “I’m not returning my shopping cart. And you can judge me all you want.”
So far, the clip has over 11.5 million views and 105k comments.
It has also been picked up and broadcast by Good Morning America, a popular nationwide breakfast show in the States.
Ms Dobson is a qualified clinical & forensic psychologist and has over 150,000 followers on TikTok.
@drlesliedobson #groceryshopping #shoppingcart #traderjoes #protectourchildren #protectourkids #educational #groceries #singlemom #drleslie ♬ original sound - Dr. Leslie
“I’m not getting my groceries into my car, getting my children into the car and then leaving them in the car to go return the cart, so if you’re gonna give me a dirty look, f— off,” Dobson says in the video.
The viral clip sparked a debate in the comments section around whether or not shoppers had a moral duty to return their trolleys to the storefront.
People were divided on the issue, with some claiming that it’s basic human decency to return your shopping trolley after you’ve packed all your bags into the boot of your car, while others said people should mind their own business and not concern themselves with what other people are doing.
Dr Dobson’s point was that she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her small children alone in the car while she went back to the shopfront with her trolley. In other words, the safety of her kids was more of a priority than putting the trolley back where she found it.
In an interview with GMA, she revealed that she made the video with the intent of raising awareness of moms and children being unaware of their surroundings.
“I wanted to make the video to empower people to say, trust your instinct, it’s okay if you don’t feel safe to not return your shopping cart,” she said.
Dobson, who regularly uses her platform to cover topics of parenting, safety and crime, said she is glad her video has created awareness on safety.
“People didn’t watch the whole thing…but now it’s turned into such an important conversation,” she said. “And I’m so happy that people are talking about this.”
She added that the comment section of her post has turned more into a conversation about safety and intuition.
“There are so many private messages of women saying, ‘I believe you, I trust you, I do the same thing, but I’m not going to leave a public message because I don’t want the retaliation’,” Dobson said.
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