[rwest]

Suppose a similar incident happened at our place of employment. Suppose someone threw a beer in my face and then I mistakenly attacked the wrong person. What would happen? I would probably be arrested and fired.

JR, you say you don't care that the wrong fan was attacked. I do! That fan did nothing to deserve being hit.

I don't condone what the fans did. It was a disgrace and criminal. Charges should be as severe as the law allows. However, our society has gotten more violent. In our culture today, if someone disrespects you, people take that as a right to fight. When I was growing up, I was taught to walk away from a conflict before it broke nto a fight. Don't get me wrong. I believe you have a right to defend yourself. But Artest should never have gone up into the stands.

JR, just because someone says something to you that you don't like, does not give you the license to beat the snot out of him. Nor does being hit by a cup of beer. The reponse must be proportional. Beer in the face = Fists in the face. I don't think so. Artest went way overboard.

Just my opinion.