RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Deep Topics If you could save one life...

If you had the opportunity to save the life of one person (and only one person) who "went before their time," (killed in an accident, victim of violence, anything that doesn't count as natural causes), who would it be and why?

i'll deal strictly with famous people here...

i'm going to go against the grain, and not pick martin luther king jr. why? frankly, cuz i think his death was also a good thing.

worst statement ever? pretty close, im sure.

lemme splain.

with all the amazing things he accomplished in life, his death was probably even more powerful. all of the mourning and unification that occured after the assassination really helped to make great strides in race relations -- almost putting his death on a biblical level. not that anyone would or should be happy with his death... but through his death, you can completely glorify his life and his teachings, and ultimately respect that he held true to everything he preached, despite constant threats and such.

howzat for a non-answer?

so, who do i think should be saved?

i dunno, i always liked john and robert kennedy. i think both of them could have continued on to make good and bold moves for the positive.

john lennon was a huge loss to the music world, and obvious end to the potential reformation of the globe's greatest band.

i always fondly reminisce about commedians that died too young, like chris farley or sam kinison...

huh, i dunno who i'd pick

Not counting my relatives and limiting it to famous people.

Hmm, I have no clue.

Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson -more importantly his Wife (I'd like to have seen how he would have resolved post WW I world politics if he had had a successful final term in office and beyond), Archduke Ferdinand (what would have caused the first World War?), John or Robert kennedy (we would have de-escelated in Vietnam and went back on the gold & silver standard), and Princess Diana (because she did a lot of great things and she was hot). Malcolm X would be a good candidate too.

I would have to think about which 1 of those.

I'd pick Lennon, just to watch him become an bitter old irrelevant has-been, just like McCartney.

Oh, that and the fact he'd have probably dumped Yoko and we'd be spared her ugly mug at every awards show over the last 25 years.

i think a person's death, especially a leader who died because of his cause, can speak volumes more than their actions, however great, could. death is, oddly, a motivator, a wake up call, and a call to action all in one.

not that their death is a good thing, per se. it just has huge, positive ramifications.

the death of martin luther, i think, made huge and lasting effects on race relations in a way he simply couldn't do by himself. in life, you're just a man. but in death, you're a legend and a legacy.

christ's death is the foundation of the christian religion.

those who died to start and continue the aids quilt.

megan kanka, of "megan's law"

etc, etc.

Obi-won Kenobi for example.

I was going to suggest, Aryton Senna - the Formula One driver, who died ten years ago. I loved to watch him race - his driving combined great skill and calculation with incredible passion and an unrelenting desire to win. Off track he was an entertaining and intruiging character. It would have been great to watch him go head to head with the then up and coming Michael Schumacher.

However Senna is an example of what Rob was saying about a person's death being a call to action. While I was away I watched a programme on BBC world in which someone remarked that had Senna not died during the San Marino Grand Prix, 3 or 4 other drivers might not be alive today.

His death changed the sport. It changed the way in which the cars are constructed; in recent years there have been horrific crashes that would have killed or disabled the drivers had they happened during Senna's era. Senna's death also served as a catalyst for changes in the rules of Formula One racing, helping to make it a safer sport.

Instead of Senna, I'm going to nominate Kurt Cobain. He's portrayed as a tortured artist whose personal demons drove him to take his own life, but a lot of his pain originated from a crippling stomach condition which he medicated with heroin.

He had enough money to bow out of the mainstream music industry which was blatantly exploiting his delicate mental and physical health. He had a young daughter to take care of. His death was a tragedy because it could have been so easily avoided had the people around him chosen to take some of the pressure off.

I'd probably go with Kurt. For the reasons you mentioned, plus the fact that if he lived, then maybe people could actually judge the music as music, instead of judging the music based on their opinions about the guy's death.