Maybe you're the type who would just sit there and take things being thrown at you --- maybe you'd have no choice but to cover your head with your arms and meekly take it or you'd run away and get laughed at for it --- but the beer throwing has been going on for a while now --- the fact that no one has addressed the issue of the unruly fans --- until Artest did --- is the problem. Why pay security at all if this kind of thing just goes on?
I tell you what, if I'm a player making 6 or 7 figures annually and my choice is either to phycially go after a guy who I suspected threw beer at me and possibly destroy my whole career (and all the money that comes with it) as a result or just bite my lip and head on into the locker room as quickly as possible, I'd do the latter. How about you?
Seriously though, I fall somewhere between Artest and the French. I am the type that will confront a legitimate threat with an appropriate response. I also recognize that there are ramifications for having a short temper or reacting irrationally. In most circumstances, I try to think before I act. Mr. Artest should have done the same (as should have beer man).
As much as I'd like to continue this all day long, I have to go hang Christmas lights now. I hate ladders.