# Time's Person of the Year **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117 "2016-12-07T16:15:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/21 "2016-12-07T21:14:42Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > This selection was a slam dunk. Probably unanimous among those who had any vote in the choice. It was the easiest choice in my lifetime, which goes back to 1971. There is absolutely no debate whatsoever to be had. Never in the last 45 years has one individual person so dominated public discourse in a particular year. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/22 "2016-12-07T21:30:44Z")
I wonder if TIME basically has to set up their answering machines or auto-email replies to ward off the tsunami of messages: \*"We anticipate heavy criticism of this decision. We want to reiterate and clarify, again, that the selection of Person of the Year does not necessarily mean that that person is a \*\*good \*_person, but rather, that the person had a major influence on the world."_ ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/23 "2016-12-07T23:22:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I wonder if TIME basically has to set up their answering machines or auto-email replies to ward off the tsunami of messages: > > \*"We anticipate heavy criticism of this decision. We want to reiterate and clarify, again, that the selection of Person of the Year does not necessarily mean that that person is a \*\*good \*_person, but rather, that the person had a major influence on the world."_ I still stand by my contention that Rupert Murdoch had more of an influence on the world, as his media empire for decades has been based on perniciously stoking low information outrage across the globe, which led to both the Brexit vote and the election of Trump. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/24 "2016-12-08T00:01:12Z")
Yeah, I knew when I saw the short list that fucker would end up on the cover. I was hoping for someone else simply because I’m sick of media giving that twit more shit to pull his own dick about. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/25 "2016-12-08T00:16:54Z")
I guess Fidel Castro missed the deadline for making the list. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/26 "2016-12-08T04:18:36Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > The funny thing is that he will see this as an honor or award instead of simply an acknowledgment that he was the person most influencing the news this year. How long before he tweets about this great recognition? The funny thing is that you think he really cares, whether he tweets something or not. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/27 "2016-12-08T06:17:00Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Who is it? I don’t recognize him. All Ken Bone wanted to do was go to a nationally televised town hall and ask a boring question about energy policy, and he got 15 minutes of unwanted fame. This person, who was one of thousands of POTYs two years ago, has said that if he had known his name would generate more than 1 billion hits on Google, would have remained anonymous. [kent brantly person of the year - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=kent+brantly+person+of+the+year&rlz=1C1LDJZ_enUS504US504&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFjv2Y-ePQAhXJ7SYKHc_7AkoQ_AUICSgC&biw=1024&bih=679#imgrc=EE2gD_bBnGPb4M%3A) (so, there, went hit #1,000,000,001.) Trump’s comments about this issue didn’t go over well at the time either. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/28 "2016-12-08T06:20:42Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I saw a “Did TIME give Donald Trump devil horns?” link on a major mainstream news site. > > Dammit, just no. I refuse to click that shit. I’ve seen a Photoshopped version of the Time cover depicting Trump sitting on the kind of throne that you flush, with a roll of TP on the wall. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/29 "2016-12-08T06:23:22Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Yeah, I knew when I saw the short list that fucker would end up on the cover. I was hoping for someone else simply because I’m sick of media giving that twit more shit to pull his own dick about. Assuming he can find it in the first place. :smack: I’m surprised at how little I’m seeing about it on social media, or at least the SM I’ve been viewing. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/30 "2016-12-08T07:14:15Z")
What are they going to do as an encore for 2017, after Trump installs himself as God-Emperor of the United States? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/31 "2016-12-08T11:39:09Z")
I would have chosen Farage. Trump will be gone in a little over 4 years; the events Farage has set in motion will last far longer. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/32 "2016-12-08T12:09:45Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Hasn’t it been the case for the the past 20 years or so that the POTY for U.S. presidential election years is the president-elect? It’s become sorta an automatic “honor.” > > On edit, a quick Google search revelas that since 1976 the pres-elect has been POTY for each election year. I also assumed that, so, not surprised that it turned out to be true, but thinking about it, it strikes me as slightly odd that it would include reelections… Reagan, Clinton, GW Bush, and Obama in '84, '96, 2004, and 2012 seem way less newsmaking than '80, '92, 2000, and 2008. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/33 "2016-12-08T14:12:05Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Once you see it, you can’t unsee it! 😃 I meant the article. I’ve seen the cover photo; it’s clearly a double dunce cap. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/34 "2016-12-08T14:43:35Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I would have chosen Farage. Trump will be gone in a little over 4 years; the events Farage has set in motion will last far longer. The idea is to select “the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.” Given that, Trump makes more sense than Nigel Farage, although Farage gets mentioned in a separate article on “Europe’s populist revolt”. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/35 "2016-12-08T15:30:13Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The idea is to select “the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.” Given that, Trump makes more sense than Nigel Farage Only if you restrict yourself to America. Trump is only President and will be gone in 4 years or so; Farage has initiated the break-up of the Euro, if not the EU. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/36 "2016-12-08T16:43:06Z")
Your suggestion seems to be that Farage’s actions will have an impact in the future. But the award is about the impact on the news of this year. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/37 "2016-12-08T19:50:10Z")
Um… has anyone looked closely at the [issue’s cover image](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/12/07/12/3B2376AF00000578-0-image-a-1_1481114186697.jpg)? Give it a minute. No spoilers until a few people have checked back in, okay? (It’s not a small, subtle thing. Look at the overall layout.) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/38 "2016-12-08T20:40:33Z")
They’ve desaturated a lot of the orangeness from his face! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/39 "2016-12-08T23:25:00Z")
The cover is accurate. It also would have been accurate to call Trump the President Elect of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117/40 "2016-12-08T23:28:31Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > The cover is accurate. Oh, it’s accurate all right. Even in the details. Separate thread in IMHO started. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/774117.md?page=3)