Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is receiving social media blowback for a recent post in which she expressed bewilderment that her local CVS drug store is taking anti-shoplifting measures by locking up basic products like laundry detergent.
Cynthia Nixon — who ran unsuccessfully for New York governor in 2018 — tweeted her comment along with her disbelief shoplifting can be prosecuted as a crime. “As so many families can’t make ends meet right now, I can’t imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them,” she tweeted.
The CVS on my corner has started locking up basic items like clothing detergent.
As so many families can’t make ends meet right now, I can’t imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them. https://t.co/5RsdMTDWqa
— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) May 22, 2021
Her comment set off a chain of criticism, with some questioning her seemingly lax attitude toward theft and accusing her of being an out-of-touch, wealthy progressive. Others noted Tide laundry detergent has become a form of currency in certain criminal circles.
Shoplifting has recently had serious consequences in the drug store industry, where stores can operate on slim margins. A wave of shoplifting has forced Walgreens to close ten stores in San Francisco, with one store reportedly losing $1,000 a day to theft.
Some have pointed to Democrat-controlled California’s lenient attitude toward crime, with theft under $950 considered a misdemeanor. Prosecutors often decline to pursue such cases, creating incentives for more theft.
In New York, where Nixon resides, crime has skyrocketed under Mayor Bill DeBlasio (D), with crime reportedly up 30 percent citywide and robberies up 78 percent for the year so far.
I grew up poor, and we never took anything that we hadn't paid for. It's insulting that you think the less fortunate have no ability to discern right from wrong. Also, allowing widespread theft will result in higher prices, punishing the poor and honest.
— Lynn M (@LynannMacdonald) May 23, 2021
Cynthia, if you really patronized @cvspharmacy or @Walgreens in the city you’d know that Red Bull, deodorant, toothpaste and other items are now locked up because they’re stolen by low level criminals and then resold.
— Rob Taub (@robmtaub) May 23, 2021
Why not open the door of your $million-dollar apt and let people take what they need?
— Barney TheDeceiver (@BThedeceiver) May 24, 2021
theyre not using it. theyre selling it. for drugs. pic.twitter.com/N65StzXg7j
— KillerTomato, BMF (@TackOfThe) May 24, 2021
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