Time’s Person of the Year: Protester

Drum roll please. Time’s “Person of the Year” for 2011 is … the Protester. The magazine announced Wednesday that “no one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit stand vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent.” The magazine mentions uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Britain, Spain, Greece—and of course, the U.S.’s own Occupy movement. The issue also profiles 10 protesters from different movements around the globe. The magazine also profiled four runners-up for the honor: Navy SEAL Captain William McRaven, Chinese dissent Ai Weiwei, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and Kate Middleton.