Sean Burke, patriarch of the infamous family, is in prison for assaulting a police officer in court. That is, after he refused a suspended sentence and told the court he would not commit to good behavior for a year. His son, Enoch, is a schoolteacher. Enoch has spent much of the last three years standing outside his former workplace – at least, when he hasn’t been sitting in prison. He claims to have been fired from his teaching post in a Christian school for refusing to use preferred pronouns for a student. Allegedly, his “transphobia” endangered the student body. Burke has served multiple prison sentences and his fines are deep in the five figures. That’s no small amount for an unemployed schoolteacher. Cases like these are successful all the time around the world. The Vlaming and Figliola cases in Virginia are proof of this. The problem here is that Enoch Burke is acting in bad faith – and that’s why he will ultimately lose this battle. Authenticity is critical when promoting an idea.
Bad Faith Burke
The Burkes are a large, fundamentalist Evangelical family based in the west of Ireland. The family is (in)famous for public indiscretions, but most importantly, for acting imprudently and misrepresenting facts to their own benefit. Four siblings were banned from joining any student societies in their university for breaching the code of conduct. As someone who organized students in that university around the same time for a political movement the Burke family would ideologically support, I know how difficult it is to breach that code! More recently, Ammi attempted to sue Big Law giant Arthur Cox for wrongful termination on religious grounds. The court found that there was no case: the Ammi was just fired and happened to have religious views. In fact, when Elijah Burke won his case around discrimination against homeschooled students in 2020, the family made a handful of media appearances but have not touted it since. It would appear that it’s bad for business when the law is already on their side.
Mounting Fines
It should not be surprising, then, to learn that Enoch’s firing, fining, and forfeiture of freedom is a falsified fantasy. It is correct that his employer told him to use preferred pronouns to refer to a student but that’s where the truth ends. To the Burkes, discretion is discouraged. Enoch refused to pursue diplomatic means and instead verbally attacked his employer in front of students. Obviously, he was fired for inappropriate behavior. Burke then refused to leave his classroom until the courts gently reminded him that the school sits on private property. Despite multiple court orders, Burke has turned up to work every school day since, claiming that he is “ready and willing to work” as required by labor law. The only issue is that he was fairly dismissed and therefore cannot claim compensation. The courts have imprisoned Burke multiple times for contempt of court and have increased his fine to €700 for every day he appears at the school. In fact, prison has proved quite a money-saver for Enoch.
Burke stories are inauthentic
The Burke story is an important lesson on branding and sharing ideas: over-exaggeration is inauthentic. People will eventually discover that you are misleading them. When they do, they will lose trust in you and lose hope in your ideas. The Burkes have cried wolf so many times that most discerning people in Ireland wait for the other shoe to drop when they hear the name. In fact, Elijah’s 2020 victory was a surprise to many because they assumed there must be some mitigating factors at play to undermine his case. Similarly, Enoch’s case has become an acid test in Ireland. Those who take his case seriously generally shouldn’t be taken seriously themselves. Worst of all, the general public gets a bad impression of the gender critical movement because of Enoch’s actions. This is in a country that produced Stella O’Malley and Graham Linehan, two leading activists responsible for leaking the WPATH files. Not everyone has heard of their work, but everyone has heard about the Burkes screaming at the judge in Enoch’s case.
Fact or fiction, not fantasy
To put a positive spin on the lesson, ideas need to be robust and authentic. When using a story – real or otherwise – to spread your message, it is imperative that the facts align. This is not to suggest that embellishments are bad. ‘Fake it till you make it’ is sage advice when applied correctly. But there is a difference between intentionally becoming a martyr to further your cause and lying to appear the victim. One inspires others to boldly follow you to make a positive change in the world. The other eventually scatters the movement, spreading despair among the good people who helped you along the way.
Enoch Burke could have saved his career as well as multiple stints in prison and ever-mounting fines if he had stayed on target. In fact, by escalating the matter incrementally and with dignity, he may well have become the martyr for the cause he sought to become, but with all the facts on his side. However, by exaggerating everything in this case, he is actively turning people against him and the gender critical movement as a whole. It’s hard to estimate how much impact one three-year-long incident can have on a movement, but Ireland may wake up years from now and realize that Enoch Burke was the catalyst that accelerated its gender theory takeover.
