It was Sebastian Horsley’s funeral today. Yeah I know, I didn’t cry when I heard the tragic news of his untimely death either.
So anyway, the fabulous Kate Smurthwaite, who posts over at Cruella-Blog, decided to go to his funeral. Not in the way that Stephen Fry, Nick Cave, and all the other celebrity lets-close-our-eyes-and-ears-to-the-misogyny-this-man-celebrated luvvies did though. No, Kate went there for other, more righteous reasons.
Click the link below to read Kate’s account of how she nearly got arrested for standing outside the church and holding up a sign that said: “Where are the horse-drawn carriages for the victims of prostitution?”
From Kate:
“So I abandoned ship and went home just as two beautiful horses arrived followed by the polished black funeral carriage draped in layers of sumptuous red velvet to convey into the historic church, lavishly decorated with sunflowers and a grand piano, the body of a man who bragged that he couldn’t be bothered to check if the prostitute he was fucking was alive or not.”
Too Much To Say For Myself 
Bravo Kate for challenging the white male supremacist order! Left-wing male libertarians arrived en masse to ‘celebrate’ the passing of one of their brothers who believes women and girls exist solely to serve male sexual needs/male interests etc and what happened?
Why a woman dared to call them out on their blatant women-hating stance and utter, utter contempt for all women and girls.
Just another example of how men’s rights and men’s interests are central whereas the innumerable women and girls who were subjected to the now dead Horsley’s sexual violence are conveniently ignored. Another violent male misogynist is dead – but sadly there are innumerable other men who continue to proclaim ‘white male libertarianism at all costs’ because women and girls are not human – just disposable commodities.
Yeah, all I can say is brava Kate.
Thank god for that. I nearly vomited when I read this….
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/jun/24/deborah-orr-sebastian-horsley
The myth is that Sebastian Horsley, self-styled “dandy in the underworld”, lived his short life in fearless honesty and flamboyant self-revelation. It isn’t true. He kept one important aspect of his life pretty quiet, and now that he is dead – of a heroin overdose at 47 – there seems little point in staying silent on his behalf. He suffered from crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder, a slave to the quiet torture of the need to conduct rituals of incessant, superstitious counting. Like many a drug addict, his tragedy was his ceaseless resort to self-medication, in pursuit of a little peace from the inescapable demands of his own mind. He was admirably brave, as well as less admirably full of bravado, poor man.
Thank you Kate.
I am very glad that the funeral was slightly interrupted.
Recently I was at a very moving vigil for the murdered prostituted women in Bradford, and to hold in our all the prostituted women and girls who have disappeared, and the many left with a lifetime of trauma.
There was no glamour to this vigil, so famous people boosting their egos by going.
Just people who wanted to show that they care and are deeply by how prostituted have to endure such violence and degradation.
There are many punters who like Sebastian Horsley think they are an “artist” by destroying prostituted women and girls.
I had far too of those arrogant and ego-driven men who made close to death and into dirt, just to fulfil their dreams of conquering the whore.
I cannot grieve his death – until there no more punters like him anywhere.
Soon to be two, with the impending death of Christopher Hitchens of ‘women can’t be funny’, calling Wanda Sykes ‘black dyke’ infamy. I can’t tell you how glad I was to hear the news (yes I know). Oesophageal cancer – I know the booze and fags won’t have helped, but I can’t help but wonder if all the hateful misogyny and racist bullshit that came through it (via the spleen) might have contributed.
Left-wing male libertarians arrived en masse to ‘celebrate’ the passing of one of their brothers who believes women and girls exist solely to serve male sexual needs/male interests etc ……..what a load of crap!
Although it was of course Kate’s right to protest and Seb would have loved it anyway! Basically , she came, waved her little placard about and was moved on.
The only effect her protest had was to warm the hearts of Rad Feminists and amuse Sebastians friends, whom i count myself amoungst.
I’m glad his mother who has a terminal illness missed Kate’s little Circus Act.
Right…well this post is linked to with reference to your current complaints about your treatment on the net. Very appropriately, I must say.
I cannot BELIEVE your hypocrisy. After what you and your commenters have said your complaints about ‘hate speech’ (presumably you will tell yourself that this comment is hate?) come across as the most juvenile lack of self-awareness.
And the people here celebrating a human-being’s death…how glad they are that the service was interrupted. How pleased someone is that Christopher Hitchens is ill..What do they think they are doing?
I wonder if a response to me would be “but given the kind of person he was, it’s OK to talk about him like that” (ie: as though he were not a human being)…?