this post was submitted on 17 May 2026
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Normally when this is asked, people think about reviving, curing, resurrecting. This question is about who you save if you were transported to a time a little before their death, like maybe a day before or even a week before. Anything about terminal illnesses or diseases contracted don't really count here because, when those things happen, they happen and there's really nothing you could do to have prevented it.

I think I would've wanted to prevent JFK's assassination. I'd tell him "dude, do not get in that limo and drive down Elm Street" and I'd show him a newspaper clip of the day of his assassination. I'd probably be looked at a little crazily and suspected of maybe being involved in something that pertains to that day. But, it's an effort I would've gone through to do that.

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[–] getFrog@piefed.social 1 points 13 minutes ago

Kelvin Kiptum. He was one of the greatest prospects in really advancing marathon world records. It might take another few generations until someone with the same kind of potential enters the scene.

[–] myrrh@ttrpg.network 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

...i think if yitzhak rabin hadn't been assassinated, the trajectory of twenty-first-century globalism would have been very different, potentially sustaining the progressive momentum mustered in the early nineties...

(not that he was personally responsible for that trajectory, but the butterfly-effect tendrils of his assassination run deep and wide)

[–] HeyJoe@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

My wife's father. He committed suicide back in 2019 after a few years of him getting more and more distant and depressed. Of course it is a gamble since we do believe it was his brain deteriorating kind of similar to what Robin Williams had, but at the same time i also believe he was kind of miserable having to deal with his family's problems which consisted of his 3 daughters and his wifes issues. A week after he passed his wife was then diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she also passed within 3 months as well. It was a crazy year to say the least. I just wonder so much what he would have done if he was alive to see his wifes passing if that would have changed his decision because i really feel like if he knew he no longer had to take care of her he wouldnt have had to worry so much about living out his life in fear of running out of money anymore and that he may have finally been able to do what he wanted to do which i think he felt trapped.

[–] Jumi@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago (2 children)
[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago
[–] ksh@aussie.zone 1 points 3 hours ago
[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 hours ago

Kevin Conroy. Some other actors can do Batman's voice fairly good but no one tops Kevin.

[–] WongKaKui@piefed.ca 4 points 5 hours ago

Sun Yat Sen (孫中山)

I wonder if my birth country would've been in a better place, be making more friends in the world instead of antagonizing everyone like PRC and CCP is doing, destroying the reputation of my people abroad, and causing widespread Sinophobia.

[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 hours ago

Terry Fox. One of humanity's gems.

[–] akunohana@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 5 hours ago

Mine and my family's. I don't know how to cope with and accept the finality of life. Hope ghosts are allowed here.

[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 24 points 12 hours ago

My son. It would likely only delay his death, as he was determined to end his life. Even off it was only for one day, it would give me another chance to let him know i loved him, to let his younger siblings see him one last time.

[–] leadore@lemmy.world 12 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

In terms of US History, Abraham Lincoln, by far. What a completely different country this would be today. Or at least would have had a good chance to be.

[–] IronBird@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

go further, kill Alexander the Great...prevent Romes rise entirely

[–] volore@scribe.disroot.org 28 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Lincoln's.

I've no idea whether Reconstruction would've been successful with him at the helm, but it almost certainly would've gone better.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 24 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Andrew Johnson pardoning nearly every traitor so they could rot our country from the inside out like a cancer definitely didn't help.

[–] Soulifix@piefed.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Sounds pretty damn similar to what the current corrupt administration does. So, before anyone dares say "No president in history has done this!" all they need to look up is Andrew Johnson.

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 hours ago

I would travel back in time and prevent the deaths of all the other sperms in the load that became Justice John Roberts Jr. If only one of those other sperms got into that egg.

This court Jester that thinks that 12 years after civil rights and voting rights were extended to black people, that there was no racism to deal with anymore and has been trying to overturn them until he succeeded this time.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 15 points 13 hours ago (1 children)
[–] JennaR8r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 hours ago

😭 I would've married him & birthed his offspring to replicate more of him!

[–] dparticiple@sh.itjust.works 24 points 15 hours ago

My friend, Chris, who ended his life. It's been years, but I'd give just about anything to have him back.

[–] 7upCoconut@lemmy.world 22 points 14 hours ago (1 children)
[–] MeatPilot@sh.itjust.works 7 points 12 hours ago

We could have had utopia, but instead we killed Harambe.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 12 points 13 hours ago

Fred Hampton. I don't mean to pass over other civil rights martyrs, but the Black Panthers were something special. Real revolutionary politics, organised, and taking direct action; the high-water mark of leftest politics in modern America.

[–] devolution@lemmy.world 11 points 13 hours ago

RBG. I wound have forced her to resign.

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 15 points 14 hours ago

My late father. He passed away July 21, 2014.

Back in January that year, I came home from work, and he told me that he made some eggs and grits. But when he ate it, it was too hot, but his reflexes made him swallow it anyways. Which basically boiled his insides.. ☹️

He refused to let me call emergency services, hell he even told me that if I did so without his permission, he would shoot them, and yes he slept on a couch loaded with multiple guns under the couch cushions. He even threatened to kill me if I called emergency services without his permission.

5 months in, I realized that daddy wasn't gonna recover, as he was seeking cell phone signal the morning before I was about to head out to work. Daddy like never called anybody, so when I saw him seeking a good cell signal, I asked him if he wanted me to step out and call 911 myself.

He said, and I quote, "Hold the fuck on, I'm getting ready"

Needless to say, I missed work that day. I got him to the hospital, where he lived for another month or so, but passed away because he didn't tend to his health back in January when the situation happened.

I'd write out more about this, but it's too sad for me to think more on.

Damnit daddy, I coulda saved you, if you weren't so stubborn!

☹️😭💀

[–] TheRagingGeek@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago

Think I’d have gone with saving my grandmother from cancer when my dad was 4, hopefully if they caught it early enough she would’ve lived and my grandfather wouldn’t become a twisted abusive man and my dad could’ve had a normal upbringing. Maybe then he would be reasonable enough to stay in contact with.

[–] brainzzz@piefed.world 10 points 13 hours ago

Martin Luther King maybe?

[–] MantisToboggon@lemmy.world 9 points 14 hours ago
[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 8 points 14 hours ago

My dad. Fuck cancer.

My best buddy who feel asleep at the wheel 2km from his destination.
Could've been there with him to keep him awake 1 more minute. Or drive. Or maybe I'd have died with them.
I've stopped asking myself "what if", I'll never know, but I miss you buddy.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 14 hours ago (2 children)
[–] BlueEther@no.lastname.nz 1 points 10 hours ago

in that vein, Amy Winehouse

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[–] dnick@sh.itjust.works 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Have you watched the Stephen King movie about that?

[–] Davel23@fedia.io 4 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Or better yet, read the book that the "movie" (it's a miniseries) was based on? Both are called 11/22/63, but the book is much better.

[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago

Second this recommendation, the book is fantastic. I didn't finish the TV miniseries as they changed too much for my taste.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Dave Stevens.

I know, who?

Good documentary about him:

https://youtu.be/gSaaNJyqf4g

Fuck Cancer!

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Strange. I was a fan, and never wondered why I wasn't seeing more stuff from him.

Yeah, fuck cancer.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 1 points 33 minutes ago

If you want some great "Lost" Dave Stevens stuff, pick up the 3 volume collection of the Star Wars newspaper strips.

It was ostensibly done by Russ Manning, which is just a joy to see on it's own, but Stevens worked in Manning's studio and ghosted some of the art for the strip.

99% of it is pure Manning, but every now and then... "Oh, yeah, totally Dave..." (it's the eyes)

[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 4 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

No "famous" person. Two families that are friends of mine. Both have lost a child at ages 8 / 10 from accidents, and they could never really get over it and it has changed their lives so much.

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[–] chunes@lemmy.world 5 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (2 children)

Probably this guy. Hopefully prevent a lot of pointless bloodshed

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 10 points 14 hours ago (3 children)

Not so sure about that. I think Europe was already on the road to war, and he was just an excuse.

At the time, war was still seen as something romantic that could be ended relatively easily with few consequences for the ones in charge. Nobody making the decisions anticipated the industrial scale slaughter that modern tech enabled.

[–] IronBird@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

best thing to change the shape of europe would be going back and kill Alexander no Romen Empire = none of their bastard children going on multiple genocidal rampages over the centuries

i mean...they probabky would have happened under someone/thing else but it probably wouldnt have been as stiffeling in thought as catholicism

and if you kill the catholics in their crib then protestants/puritans never make it to america

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[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

That would do nothing, he was just the insignificant excuse.

[–] Soulifix@piefed.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Yeah. I mean, there were a lot of things boiling up in WW1 and WW2 would not have been prevented. This assassination was indeed the trigger.

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 4 points 14 hours ago

I know it's not really that important in the scheme of things but probably Chris Cornell which would hopefully also save Chester Bennington. Quite selfish of me but that's what first came to my mind.

[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 3 points 14 hours ago

I'd show him a newspaper clip of the day of his assassination. I'd probably be looked at a little crazily and suspected of maybe being involved

In that time you would not simply be "looked at".

100% You would have been accused of being involved and then sentenced for life at least.

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