Mike Cee removed by police from Texas school board meeting while reading from LGBTQ book ‘Flamer’
- Mike Cee was seen on video, holding a microphone used for public commentary, quoting Mike Curato’s book Flamer
- At one point, he reads out a character’s line asking, “Who wants my hot wiener?”
- Cee is met by a board member who bangs her gavel and asks security to remove him, while the man continues to read from the book.
A man was forcibly removed from a Texas school board meeting on Tuesday while trying to speak out against an LGBTQ book that had been banned from school libraries.
Mike Cee was seen on video, holding a microphone used for public commentary, quoting Mike Curato’s book Flamer, a novel about a teenager discovering his sexuality.
The book had already been removed from the district’s elementary and middle school libraries over the summer.
At one point, he reads out a character’s line asking, “Who wants my hot wiener?”
Cee was confronted by a board member who banged her gavel and asked security to take him away, while the man continued to read from the book.
Mike Cee was seen on video, holding a microphone used for public commentary, quoting Mike Curato’s book Flamer, a novel about a teenager discovering his sexuality.
Three security officers surrounded him as the rest of the audience began to shout, with the board member demanding silence and banging the gavel again.
According to the council, the board eventually went into a temporary recess Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
It is not clear which side of the debate Cee was on, as he engaged in a story about Satan, God, and free will before being removed from the meeting.
Satan rules the world. Satan speaks through some of you, it could be some of these board members, it could be some of the audience. God has given us free will to do the right thing,” Cee said.
In another video, Cee appeared to believe the book was still being shown in Fort Worth schools despite the ban. Fox news said.
The rest of the meeting consisted of speakers from both sides of the book ban debate.
Kenya Alu, executive director of the local Citizens Defending Freedom chapter, said they are not in favor of banning books, but of protecting children.
“Just as movies have ratings and require an adult to accompany a child to an R-rated movie, we ask the same for books,” she wrote.
At one point, Cee reads out a character’s line asking, “Who wants my hot wiener?”
Cee is met by a board member who bangs her gavel and asks security to remove him, while the man continues to read from the book.
Set in 1995, Flamer tells the story of Aiden, who is bullied at a Boy Scout summer camp for “acting in a manner that is considered stereotypical for gay men.”
It’s not clear which side of the debate Cee was on, as he delved into a story about Satan, God, and free will before being removed from the meeting.
Layne Craig, a professor of English at Texas Christian University and parent of a Fort Worth student, defended books with more “adult” themes and libraries as a whole.
“I would like the district to fully and verbally support librarians. I’d like to see a more vocal defense from our librarians against the kind of baseless attacks they’ve been facing lately.”
Set in 1995, Flamer tells the story of Aiden, who is bullied at a Boy Scout summer camp for “behaving in a manner that is considered stereotypical of gay men.”
Other books removed from the precinct’s libraries include “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “Wait What?” A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up’ by Heather Corinna.
The American Library Association named “Flamer” one of the most “banned books” of 2022, as it was challenged in at least 62 schools.
The incident comes as the content of books in school libraries has become a hot topic among politicians, school boards and parents.