The Philippine Online Chronicles

The year 2011 was marked by numerous massive protests around the world. Due to this, Time magazine awarded the prestigious Person of the Year citation to “The Protester,” represented by the participants of the Arab Spring and Occupy Movement protests.

“'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,” writer Kurt Andersen explained in the cover story of Time's year end issue.

Global massive protests in 2011 began in North African and spread across countries in West Asia (Middle East)—most recently in Syria. These protests, rooted in various issues, were against their respective incumbent regimes. The protests, better known as the Arab Spring, ousted the presidents of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.

In August, the murder of Mark Duggan led to the England Riots, a protest seeking for justice for the slain black Englishman, which turned violent after clashes between the protesters and the London police.

In September, protesters spontaneously trooped to the United States' financial district Wall Street in New York in protest of “corporate greed.” The movement, dubbed Occupy Wall Street, spread across the United States and Europe with protests and labor strikes against big corporations.

“Two decades after the final failure and abandonment of communism, they believe they're experiencing the failure of hell-bent megascaled crony hypercapitalism and pine for some third way, a new social contract,” Andersen wrote.

The other nominees for 2011 Time Person of the Year were US Navy Admiral William McRaven, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, Republican congressman Paul Ryan, and English duchess Kate Middleton.

Time previously awarded the Person of the Year to a group, giving the citation to “You,” or the global netizen, in 2006.