Compared to some of the past holders of the âPerson of the Yearâ title, announced annually by a US-based magazine, Elon Musk may not be âworst choice everâ, as certain critics have said (just for perspective, Adolf Hitler was a recipient of this title). Of course, Musk was irresponsible in playing down the dangers of Covid-19, and has allegedly threatened workers in his company for unionising. But, as the magazine said, the title isnât an honour. It is an acknowledgement of a personâs, or personsâ, influence over the events of the year.
Such âhonoursâ, even when arbitrary, come from an understandable impulse to make sense of the year gone by. So how about an alternative that avoids the ambiguities of the present exercise, but still lets us find some meaning in the past year? âPerson of the Yearâ nominees, that is, who are not outsized heroes or villains, but ordinary mortals who, either through design or default, best captured their moment.
Given that disruption and chaos was the main theme of 2021, as it was for 2020, hereâs a possible list of nominees. First, the man in the US who burned down his $1.8 million home while trying to get rid of snakes â because we all know what itâs like to watch a relatively small problem blow up into a massive crisis. Next, the artist who gave a Danish museum two blank canvases titled âTake the money and runâ in return for $84,000 â because who hasnât experienced the urge to, as they say, âstick it to themâ? And the final nominee, the Delhi woman who rushed to purchase liquor after restrictions were lifted and was heard telling news cameras, âMujhe dawaiyon se asar nahin hoga, peg se hoga (Medicines wonât help me, but a peg of alcohol will)â. We feel you sister.
This editorial first appeared in the print edition on December 15, 2021 under the title âA kind of heroâ.
