Time Magazine Person of the Year:

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-12-21 01:02pm

"The American Soldier"

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-12-21 01:17pm

Its about damn time,they were doing the dying while others recieved the glory.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-12-21 01:41pm

My first reaction is "Blah, jingoism".

But then I think about it and realize, damnit, they're right.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2003-12-21 01:57pm

I could have sworn it was going to be Arnold

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-12-21 03:14pm

I wonder how they selected the cover image?

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-12-21 03:37pm

W00t W00t!

Got a bigger pic?

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-12-21 03:38pm

DPDarkPrimus wrote:My first reaction is "Blah, jingoism".

But then I think about it and realize, damnit, they're right.

Yeah, say what you will of the administration or the war but damn it those soldiers really have done every thing they could and done a fine job. And let us not forget those that gave the last full measure.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2003-12-21 05:33pm

The best thing about this war in my opinion is that the soldiers are getting their due credit for doing an excellent job, while rarely getting blamed for the war itself, as they have in the past.

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2003-12-21 05:37pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:W00t W00t!

Got a bigger pic?

Here you go

And...

Yahoo! News' article

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-12-21 05:58pm

MKSheppard wrote:"The American Soldier"

Hooah!

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-12-21 06:35pm

Oberleutnant wrote:
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:W00t W00t!

Got a bigger pic?

Here you go

And...

Yahoo! News' article

Thank you!

*looks at pic*

WHOA!! Why is that soldier's finger on the trigger!? You're not supposed to do that when there are no hostiles present!

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2003-12-21 07:09pm

Must've not liked the cameraman.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2003-12-21 07:16pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote: *looks at pic*

WHOA!! Why is that soldier's finger on the trigger!? You're not supposed to do that when there are no hostiles present!

Gurantee that the weapon is unloaded. Infact, look at the ejection port. Looks like the bolt is back.

He was probably told to strike a pose for the camera.

Grand Admiral Thrawn · Post by **Grand Admiral Thrawn** » 2003-12-21 07:22pm

Should have been Baghdad Bob.

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2003-12-21 07:30pm

Shouldn't that be "People of the Year?"

Anyway, good job. At first I thought it might be Saddam, but when you think about it, this really was the year of the soldier, more than any other time of the last ten years.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-12-21 07:45pm

Knife wrote:
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote: *looks at pic*

WHOA!! Why is that soldier's finger on the trigger!? You're not supposed to do that when there are no hostiles present!
Gurantee that the weapon is unloaded. Infact, look at the ejection port. Looks like the bolt is back.

He was probably told to strike a pose for the camera.

Loaded, Unloaded, Shmoaded, Shmunloaded-- I don't give a flying fuck.

I take safety _VERY_ seriously especially around guns, cars, and other deadly machinery.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2003-12-21 08:31pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:
Knife wrote:
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote: *looks at pic*

WHOA!! Why is that soldier's finger on the trigger!? You're not supposed to do that when there are no hostiles present!
Gurantee that the weapon is unloaded. Infact, look at the ejection port. Looks like the bolt is back.

He was probably told to strike a pose for the camera.
Loaded, Unloaded, Shmoaded, Shmunloaded-- I don't give a flying fuck. I take safety _VERY_ seriously especially around guns, cars, and other deadly machinery.

Bah, your no Louisianian then; for they constantly wave rifles aroud without the safety on and aim the shotguns at their chin so they get their face blown off.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-12-21 09:39pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:The best thing about this war in my opinion is that the soldiers are getting their due credit for doing an excellent job, while rarely getting blamed for the war itself, as they have in the past.

Which goes to show this batch of war protestors are more civil and decent then the assholes of the hippie movement.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-12-22 12:09am

What a load of jingoistic pandering right-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it, it had to be said ...)

I have nothing against soldiers (duh) of any nation, but this just smacks of icky jinogism.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-22 12:14am

Vympel wrote:What a load of jingoistic pandering right-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it, it had to be said ...)

What a load of bitchy, whiny, anti-American left-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it, it had to be said...)

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-12-22 12:30am

Joe wrote:
What a load of bitchy, whiny, anti-American left-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it, it had to be said...)

What a load of reactionary, mouth-breathing pro-Bush right-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it again)

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-22 12:41am

Vympel wrote:
Joe wrote:
What a load of bitchy, whiny, anti-American left-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it, it had to be said...)
What a load of reactionary, mouth-breathing pro-Bush right-wing crap.

(that's right, I said it again)

What a load of bedwetting, asshole sucking, pro-Saddamite pinko bullshit.

(alright, the asshole sucking was gratuitous)

Seriously though, why the fuss over honoring soldiers, regardless of your opinion on the war? I can think of no one who more deserves the honor more for this year.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2003-12-22 12:49am

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:
Loaded, Unloaded, Shmoaded, Shmunloaded-- I don't give a flying fuck. I take safety _VERY_ seriously especially around guns, cars, and other deadly machinery.

Oh, I take weapon saftey very serious a well. But an inert weapon is just that. Finger on the trigger on a unloaded, uncocked, safe weapon is a minor thing.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-12-22 12:51am

Joe wrote:Seriously though, why the fuss over honoring soldiers, regardless of your opinion on the war? I can think of no one who more deserves the honor more for this year.

Well, is it really an honor? Some pretty nasty characters have gotten it in the past (Hitler for one, I can't remember if Stalin got it, he may have). But anyway- As soldiers, they did their duty, their's honor in that, but "person of the year"? Firstly, they're not a singular person, so on that most basic level it's kind of stupid. Second, why the American soldier? Would it have been hard to have done the Coalition soldier, if they're going to go that road? They're always talking about how Iraq was not unilateral because they didn't go in there alone (well, seriously, they practically did, the various rent-a-nations who gave lip service to the whole thing and did nothing to help notwithstanding), would it have killed them to put a British soldier there as well, perhaps. This is about Iraq, isn't it?

A few years ago, the worst Person of the Year they ever did, fucking Bill Clinton and Kenneth Star. Like, in the entire damn world, *these* were the two people who deserved that sort of recognition. Along the same vein, George W. Bush and Tony Blair woul've been a better choice, if they want to talk about who were the "defining" people of this year, for example.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-22 02:14am

You're correct. It isn't really an honor, just a distinction. I shouldn't have said it was.

In any case, I think the decision to name the American soldier rather than the coalition soldier is a more pragmatic one than a jingoistic one. Although TIME will give the distinction to non-Americans, the magazine still caters to a primarily American readership, and it is certain that American troops have done the bulk of the fighting and dying in Iraq and have been in the news infinitely more than their Australian and British counterparts. So it seems more suitable that the honor go to the American soldier.

As far as the American soldier not being a singular person, this isn't the first time this has been done. In 1951 (or 50? I forget) the American Fighting Man was given the distinction; later on, the Scientist, the Middle American, the American Women, the Computer, and even the Planet itself were all named Person of the Year. So this is something TIME has been doing for years.

Also, about Dubya not getting named Person of the Year, he was given the distinction in 2000 and almost got it in 2001 as well. So maybe they thought it would have been redundant or something.

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