France's New Bill

I just sent this email to several of my friends...thought I'd post on here as well

You've maybe seen this in the news--but it raises an interesting debate. At what point does "freedom of expression" become outlawed? Jeffrey and I discussed on our way home from the gym this morning...

For instance, Jeffrey and I both agree that it should be illegal for people to bike while listening to headphones, because it endangers other people on the road. The pro-"ana" and "mia" websites are also harming other people, but Jeffrey draws the line there and does not believe that this behavior should be criminalized. He defends, "This is freedom of expression. I don't like what these people are expressing, but I don't want to criminalize expression." But aren't they both personal freedom choices? Whether to bike with headphones, whether to help people be unhealthily thin? Both personal choices, but both endangering other people. Where do YOU draw the line?

I'm not actually sure where I stand. I don't like laws that infringe of my personal freedom but I also get really annoyed when I see people biking with their ipod on AND when I see young girls starving themselves to death (both of which I see on a daily basis!). In an ideal world, I think I would like everyone to be educated and enlightened enough to make healthy choices themselves, without having the government make those choices for them. But if that isn't a reality, where do we, as a society, draw the line? So, something to think about...