It is with a great sense of admiration and awe that Charles Guy's friends and family bid him farewell after a brief struggle with influenza earlier this week.
At the young age of 43, Guy stood as a pinnacle of conviction in his stand against vaccinations. In spite of all logic and evidence, Guy planted his feet and stood his ground. Willfully overlooking the oceans of facts and data that his opposers consistently used to distract him from his tunnel vision, Guy remained as constant as the North Star: listening to celebrities, unlicensed medical practitioners, and charismatic people with no understanding of basic research methods and statistical principles to make his health choices.
He had no fear as he developed a fever and chills related to the disease that killed 56,000 people in the 2012-2013 flu season. Relying on his regimen of green tea and oil extracts from plants that are as natural as the flu itself, Guy confidently awaited his mortal immune system's response to the merciless and proven killer as he lay in bed and then, ultimately, the hospital.
Those close to him near the end assure others that he had no regrets by declining the vaccine that was fully covered by his insurance and may have caused him a little discomfort as his immune system adapted. Indeed, he passed willfully into the unknown, happy only that he had boosted the stock value of pseudo-science based companies, and helped the sales numbers of other anti-vaxxers who gave incomplete and incorrectly interpreted versions of the full picture.
Indeed, he was an inspiration to so many close to him. No one can argue that he did not stand for what he believed in. He was a martyr for the greater cause of medical ignorance, science denial, and anecdote-based decision-making. He will be remembered as such.
Already, he has inspired thousands of others to ignore the advice of medical experts and the Centers for Disease Control, greatly increasing their chances of joining him in the great beyond. On that note, please be sure to thoroughly wash your hands before attending the service this coming Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul's.