Matt Alexander:
While I, of course, agree that the protests this year were of enormous significance, I cannot help but feel that this award is somewhat contrived.
The inclusion of the Occupy movements across the United States in the same article as the bloody overthrow of Gaddafi? Seems a bit much.
I’ve seen a number of comments similar to this today.
I feel the protester in Tunisia who set himself on fire, Mohamed Bouazizi, and later died is the ‘Man of the Year’. He was the spark that started everything. No doubt this would be a controversial choice but it’s the correct one and would’ve made for a more powerful cover.
Instead Time took the route yet again saying everyone is the recipient as they did a few years ago.
Slime is a cheap rag and not worth the paper it’s printed on nor the bits it’s posted within.
Why does including Occupy “seem like a bit much?” I don’t get this. I read other stories on this site so it doesn’t seem like astroturf, but One37.Net doesn’t elaborate as to why it’s a bit much.
I also don’t get a lot of anger towards Time’s Man of the Year. It’s as if everyone hates the “Man of the Year” title, which can be a bit misleading, but you have to understand it’s the person/people/thing that was the most prominent in the news that year. Hitler was man of the year not because he was a great man but because he was in the news the most. Look at all the protests in the news. Seems like it’s a very appropriate selection to me. If you think someone made more news this year, let’s hear it. If you don’t like the definition, let’s discuss it. Admittedly the “Man of the Year” title appears to generate as much news as who it’s named for, so as to generate buzz and sales or whatever.
@quietstorms:disqus While I agree that that man was important to starting the whole thing in the middle east, by himself that wasn’t a single newmaker, so you can’t give him the title. He doesn’t meet the definition because important does not equal prominent.
@VGISoftware:disqus Let’s refrain from Ad hominem attacks, they aren’t very productive.
A bit much? It’s not over yet. Of course, the fanboys of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk will find it insulting to compare people who don’t buy their right-wing screeds as legitimate commentary as insignificant, unpatriotic, whatever. But the protester is the person of the year, and they cover the whole range of protesting. From nonviolent sit-ins to bloody insurrection that leads to the overthrow of dictators. To dismiss one as not related to the other is naive.