Metta World Peace - Respect!

I think that Ron Artest is a hell of a basketball player.

He's a wild character, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that he's an effective person on the court.

He reminds me of the good old days when Dennis Rodman or Bill Lambeer would throw an elbow and disrupt the entire flow of a game.

I don't mind that he changed his name to Metta World Peace - he can change his name however he wants; it's a free country.

Secondly, if he draws attention to mental illness, that is a good thing.  People with mental illness are often marginalized.  I believe that in many cases, they should be treated with respect - eventually, as treatments improve, mental illness will be viewed as a treatable condition and problems like OCD, OCPD, and the range of DSM disorders won't be looked down upon.  They'll be like psoriasis or allergies; people will understand.