Time magazine gives props to protesters

HEY, OCCUPIER, you've just slept for two months on hard concrete, been pepper-sprayed and watched your tent get ripped down by a cop in riot gear! What are you going to do now?

You're going to be on the cover of Time magazine, as Person of the Year for 2011: "The Protester." Well, you and your global cousins, from Cairo's Tahrir Square to Moscow's Red Square.

"All over the world, the protesters of 2011 share a belief that their countries' political systems and economies have grown dysfunctional and corrupt - sham democracies rigged to favor the rich and powerful and prevent significant change," Time wrote in its cover story.

Certainly a different vibe from 2010's pick: Facebook billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

- Will Bunch