Time names ‘Protester’ as Person of the Year

NEW YORK - The Associated Press

“The Protester” has been named Time’s Person of the Year for 2011. The selection was announced yesterday on NBC’s “The Today Show.” The magazine said dissent across the Middle East had spread to Europe and the United States and protesters were reshaping global politics.

The title of Time’s Person of the Year is given to the person or thing that has most influenced culture and the news during the past year for good or otherwise. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke received the honor in 2009. The 2008 winner was then-President-elect Barack Obama. Other previous winners have included Bono, President George W. Bush and Amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.

Time said it was recognizing protesters because they were “redefining people power” around the world.
The Time article by Kurt Andersen said it began in Tunisia, where the dictator’s power grabbing and high living crossed a line of shamelessness and a commonplace bit of government callousness against an ordinary citizen, a 26-year-old street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi, became the final straw. “Bouazizi lived in the charmless Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, 125 miles south of Tunis.,” the article said.