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Time Magazine Names the Protester Its 2011 Person of the Year

Time Magazine has revealed its 2011 Person of the Year: the Protestor. The magazine cited mass actions against dictators in the Middle East, anti-drug cartel sentiment in Mexico, marches against leaders in Greece, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and dissent over the Putin regime in Russia in rationalizing its choice.

Among the other contenders were: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and SEAL Team 6, whose members killed Osama bin Laden.

The Person of the Year is not always an accolade: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini are some of the more notorious past recipients.

But Time sees the Protesters of 2011 as a positive force. Managing Editor Rick Stengel writes, “There’s this contagion of protest. These people who risked their lives … I think it is changing the world for the better.”