If you could travel back in time and kill one person, who would it be and why? - Change history the kiwi way!

Promestein said:
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to see how WW2 woulda ended without US intervention.
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Pretty sure Yamamoto was decidedly on team "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ATTACKING THE US IS GODDAMN RETARDED WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME PLAN THIS SHIT?!" and thus taking him out means that team "RAPE AND MURDER EVERYONE! WHATS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?! WE ARE INVINCIBLE!!!" will be significantly stronger in japanese politics and whatever equivalent to Pearl Harbour happens will likely wind up a hell of a lot less competently done, and that there will probably be more shit done to piss off the Allies into going Total War.

Hell if enough butterfly effects happen maybe the japs will be dumb enough to try and attack the Soviets at the same time they attack the western allies which would lead to them getting booted off mainland asia even faster than in our history.

As for my choice of who to kill, unfortunately I subscribe to the "mass movements and causes >>>> individuals" view of historical events and thus I doubt that killing any one person from hitler to stalin would seriously improve history much, since figures at that height of power and influence were invariably supported by a vast pyramid network of underlings and fanatics and opportunists and such who could easily replace them, and once we get into the mid 20th century we get to the age of "ok if shit goes wrong it could literally wipe out humanity due to nukes flying around" given how many near misses we have had so far, which makes any choice that much more difficult.

Personally though I would cautiously chose this nigga, since he was singularly responsible more than any other for the Soviets getting nukes, which is what both spiralled humanity into dangerous nuclear proliferation and also ensured that their shitty totalitarian fuckery could safely and happily spread under the aegis of "if you try to stop us we burn the world down" which is something the 20th century really couldda done without. If the soviets are effectively neutralised and compelled to play nice with the West, there is far less excuse or opportunity for murica and the west to be so invested in all the shady shit we did to try and keep the soviets in check.

Obviously though this is all highly debatable and speculative, and its entirely possible this would backfire and fuck things up worse, but removing both the spectre of nuclear war and the ability and motivation of the Soviets to act with such aggressive impunity in international affairs doesn't really have that many obvious downsides in my mind unless the US randomly turns psycho which seems unlikely as extreme authoritarians would have far less paranoia to court without fear of the soviets in popular consciousness.
 
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Even Odder said:
I actually have done this already and I transported myself to this timeline by doing so.

be happy JFK got shot. You could be living in a much worse timeline.
be double happy John Wilkes Booth was successful too
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The JFK thing was the subject of a Stephen King novel. The basis of the idea is that a guy discovers a time warp, uses it so save JFK, goes back to modern day and sees it as a shithole because JFK started a nuclear war, and in order to save America he has to go back in time to kill JFK. It's not very good but it's kinda interesting.

Judge Holden said:
Pretty sure Yamamoto was decidedly on team "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ATTACKING THE US IS GODDAMN RETARDED WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME PLAN THIS SHIT?!" and thus taking him out means that team "RAPE AND MURDER EVERYONE! WHATS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?! WE ARE INVINCIBLE!!!" will be significantly stronger in japanese politics and whatever equivalent to Pearl Harbour happens will likely wind up a hell of a lot less competently done, and that there will probably be more shit done to piss off the Allies into going Total War.

Hell if enough butterfly effects happen maybe the japs will be dumb enough to try and attack the Soviets at the same time they attack the western allies which would lead to them getting booted off mainland asia even faster than in our history.

As for my choice of who to kill, unfortunately I subscribe to the "mass movements and causes >>>> individuals" view of historical events and thus I doubt that killing any one person from hitler to stalin would seriously improve history much, since figures at that height of power and influence were invariably supported by a vast pyramid network of underlings and fanatics and opportunists and such who could easily replace them, and once we get into the mid 20th century we get to the age of "ok if shit goes wrong it could literally wipe out humanity due to nukes flying around" given how many near misses we have had so far, which makes any choice that much more difficult.

Personally though I would cautiously chose this nigga, since he was singularly responsible more than any other for the Soviets getting nukes, which is what both spiralled humanity into dangerous nuclear proliferation and also ensured that their shitty totalitarian fuckery could safely and happily spread under the aegis of "if you try to stop us we burn the world down" which is something the 20th century really couldda done without. If the soviets are effectively neutralised and compelled to play nice with the West, there is far less excuse or opportunity for murica and the west to be so invested in all the shady shit we did to try and keep the soviets in check.

Obviously though this is all highly debatable and speculative, and its entirely possible this would backfire and fuck things up worse, but removing both the spectre of nuclear war and the ability and motivation of the Soviets to act with such aggressive impunity in international affairs doesn't really have that many obvious downsides in my mind unless the US randomly turns psycho which seems unlikely as extreme authoritarians would have far less paranoia to court without fear of the soviets in popular consciousness.
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Read "Red Inferno: 1945." It's an alt history where the President orders the US to race for Berlin against the Soviets, and the USSR in a panic engages the US battlegroup and starts WWIII. The United States using nuclear weapons to break the back of the Communists probably would've been the most merciful thing to ever happen to the Slavs in all of human history.
 
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Crippled Eagle said:
The JFK thing was the subject of a Stephen King novel. The basis of the idea is that a guy discovers a time warp, uses it so save JFK, goes back to modern day and sees it as a shithole because JFK started a nuclear war, and in order to save America he has to go back in time to kill JFK. It's not very good but it's kinda interesting.
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11.22.63 is a miniseries on Hulu based on the book starring James Franco.

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I thought it was pretty good.
 
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