That's What She Said, Year of the Protester, Riding the Rocket

That’s What She Said, Year of the Protester, Riding the Rocket

14 December 2011 No Comments

By Darling Nicky

TIME’s Person/Group or Entity of the Year

“TIME’s Person of the Year has been revealed to be “The Protester”. I think they got it wrong. I think it should have been “The Hater”.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter

News junkies like me usually wait with baited breath to hear who or what has been named TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year”; a recognition that has been around since 1927 and has seen some of the most innovative, world influencers while also including some very ordinary people who have done something very extraordinary. Often times the accolade goes to a World Leader who has used their power toward positive change or an inventor who has created something that profoundly changed the course of our daily lives (just want to give a special shout out to the first Man of the Year Charles Lindbergh for without his pioneering feats in aviation back in the ‘20s, we may never have come to be home to the only Canadian rapper to have his face immortalized on the side of a commercial aircraft). Occasionally it has also gone to criminals and terrorists who have paralyzed the world with their heinous methods of control.

This year, the editors’ mass consensus was that “the protestor” (one who makes formal and public objection and/or who participates in organized manifestations of dissent) had profound influence on society in 2011, not only domestically with the Occupy movements throughout North America, but worldwide. The act of protesting, regardless of which side of the issue(s) you’re on certainly does have the desired effect of having people take notice. Governments cannot ignore that people are willing to place themselves in harm’s way to fight for their cause, nor can communities ignore when roads are blocked, parks are turned into campgrounds and the evening news becomes 30 minutes of protest updates interrupted only by a few bill-paying commercials. The bitter irony in this year’s selection is that it was just 1993 that the title went to “The Peacemakers”. [insert chuckle]

There is no question that narrowing down the many possibilities of who should receive this prestigious accolade is a tough choice. If I sat on that panel, I would certainly have championed for some other society changers like: “The Gay Celebrity”, “The Hater”, or “The American Rapper”, all of whom have become household words/terms peaking in 2011. What about Dick Costolo? Yeah, bet you don’t know who that is. He’s the CEO of Twitter. What about Oprah Winfrey? You know that woman has NEVER been named TIME’s Person of the Year? (What’chu talkin’ bout Willis?).

“Equally disappointing is that they passed on Steve Jobs. After all, I read the news on my iPhone, NOT a picket sign.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter

#thatswhatSHEsaid

The Ride of Your Life

“LMAO! Who needs porn when you have the TTC? (Makes me kind of wish I was a Rocket Rider).” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter

Earlier this week, the incident where an intoxicated couple were videotaped engaging in *ahem* the act of fornication on the platform of a TTC subway station was the talk of Toronto social media and soon became a trending topic with the hashtag #RidetheRocket. I suppose if you are a regular public transit user, you have grown indifferent to most of the bizarre occurrences that take place there.

What is this obsession that people have with inappropriate conduct in public places? Wasn’t the Mile High club all the rage in the ‘80s and ‘90s? What about public restrooms? Aren’t they meant for resting? Guess they would have called them public “get-busy rooms” otherwise. What about germs? We are educated and trained enough as a community to practice safe-sex and wear condoms to protect against STD’s, but then to lay down on subway station platform and risk getting E.Coli and bacterial diseases…I just don’t get it!

Now with nothing being sacred thanks to camera phones, I guess the TTC can snatch up one of those .xxx domains I spoke of last week, and those videos can have a “safe” (pun intended) place to reside. Just kidding. Maybe.

#thatswhatSHEsaid

Darling Nicky is an entertainment writer, blogger and publicist. Check out her out at www.darlingnicky.ca