Dec. 23, 2011 - Issue #845: Headstones

Vuepoint

The protester

While Time's choice of "protester" for person of the year leaves the actual designation as ambiguous as "citizen," it is this ambiguity that makes it a worthwhile designation.
In some ways, the choice of ambiguity might seem casually offensive to those in countries where people gave their lives for political change, but in many ways it presents more of an opportunity. Time specifically chose to have the protester represented in an ambiguous fashion through an illustration of a photo taken by an alt-weekly photographer—a choice that allows us to consider the impact of political action by citizens in the past year without considering place or nationality or preconceived notions of ineffective protest.
It's a choice Time makes occasionally: Middle Americans were named in 1969, Baby Boomers in 1966, and the more recent, "You—the Internet content contributor" in 2006 (a generally agreed undeserved recipient at the time). But these are still specific groups of people, and while we can't imagine ourselves as a Baby Boomer, or  Mark Zuckerberg, or President Obama, we can place ourselves in the face of that protester, because at any moment we too can demonstrate our political power. In whatever fashion we choose.
That all-encompassing aspect also allows for recognition of the variety of methods and approaches people use to engage in political discourse. The impacts of each action were different as well. While the toppling of dictators is a specific and defined point of accomplishment, the changing of discourse and political agenda that the Occupy movement has created and will continue to influence is also important, but sometimes less obvious.
Where protests, especially in North America, have been treated by the media as a pointless drama put on by youth with too much time on their hands, the naming of the Protester as person of the year conveys the power we each hold as citizens to create change. As Time acknowledges, "Massive and effective street protest" was a global oxymoron until—suddenly, shockingly—starting exactly a year ago, it became the defining trope of our times. And the protester once again became a maker of history.” While it’s difficult to accept that the protest has had absolutely no impact in the past 20 years, there is a recognition that perhaps citizens have come to realize how to harness the numerous tools and actions of protest to be more effective. As we take the time to reflect over the holidays and set the tone for the new year, hopefully we all take the time to consider how we can use our own power for change.

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