A Teacher Was Arrested for ‘Misgendering’ a Student, While the School Kept Parents in the Dark

by Cauf Skiviers, Cultural Inappropriation, ©2023

(May 17, 2023) — Ireland, the land of saints and scholars, the Emerald Isle. The cradle of titans of intellectuality such as Yeats, Shaw, Beckett, Swift, and Joyce. Yet, it is also the place where a man was jailed for his opinion crimes. In the West. In the 21st century.

Now, it’s not just thought crimes, because he acted on his thoughts. To be precise, his crime was expressing an opinion and then proceeding to behave accordingly. The story of Enoch Burke is one of imprisonment for opposing trans ideology, only with extra steps.

Mr. Burke was a history and German teacher at Wilson’s Hospital secondary school in Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. It is a Church of Ireland co-educational boarding school.

Early last year, Mr. Burke was instructed to refer to a gender ‘non-binary’ student using ‘they/them’ pronouns. He promptly refused, stating that doing so would compromise his religious beliefs as a devout Christian.

Institutions are typically shocked and clueless about what to do when someone fails to comply with woke ideology

Upon his refusal (and in the school’s defence, institutions are typically shocked and clueless about what to do when someone fails to comply with woke ideology), he was informed by the school that he would face “disciplinary procedures” for his lack of compliance.

A few weeks later, during a school function, Mr. Burke confronted the school’s principal, questioning her on the issue and expressing his views, which resulted in his suspension. Despite his suspension, Mr. Burke continued to show up on the school’s premises, prompting the school to seek a court injunction.

However, this was to no effect as Mr. Burke continued to show up at the school. Last September, the school sought a further court order. After Mr. Burke failed to show up at the High Court, Judge Miriam O’Regan granted an order for his arrest due to his non-compliance with the injunction. He was arrested three days later when he arrived at the school’s premises.

Just before Christmas, Enoch Burke was released from prison following a ruling by Judge Brian O’Moore, who cited the cost to the public as a reason to release him from imprisonment.

It Turns Out the School Lied…

The legend goes that Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland in the fifth century. If that is true, then the snakes are being driven right back into 21st-century Ireland by a cabal of EU-sponsored politicians.

Trans ideology is right in the middle of it, as reported by Irish newspaper The Independent this week. A parent of the student has stated that their child had never requested to be referred to using ‘they/them’ pronouns, which strongly contradicts the affidavit filed with the High Court by the school. The affidavit claimed that such a request was made during a meeting between the student, the parents, and the school’s principal.

Even more concerning is the fact that the parents were never informed by the school that their child was the one being referred to in the legal proceedings. In an email to the school’s principal in January, the parent stated that they only learned “the child in question is my child” after reading a court judgment that outlined what year the unidentified student was in:

“The school did not inform me and I feel now that there’s a safety concern for my family. This whole situation could have been avoided.”

In the email to the principal, the parent clarified that the purpose of the meeting was to “re-engage [the child] back to school.” The parent also stated that while the child had requested to go by a new name, “the they/them pronoun came from Wilson’s [the school].”

It appears that not only was Mr. Burke’s arrest made based on ideological grounds, but also on false statements. The school reportedly lied not only to the parents and their child but also to the High Court. And they did so to protect woke ideology, not the child.

It also turns out that the school has had a new principal since November, the new principal has acknowledged that the school lied:

“I believe nothing turns on this. However, it is embarrassing and very unfortunate that this error was made.”

Oh, something has to turn on this. The school kept parents in the dark. They lied to the High Court. And now they want to get away with it? Based on what, their virtue signaling? More than embarrassing, the school’s lies were likely criminal.

Uncivil Obedience

The school’s debacle notwithstanding, Mr. Burke was held in Mountjoy Prison for over 100 days; where he stated that he would stay “every hour of every day for the next 100 years” rather than comply.

Even after his release from jail, Enoch Burke continued to show up for work in defiance of the court order — accruing more than €24k in fines in the process. He has become the butt of jokes in Ireland due to a woke media cartel that has gone berserk, led by the state-owned propaganda machine RTÉ.

His critics claim that he was arrested for ‘contempt of court’. But why was he in court in the first place? If you recall Laplace’s daemon, “the present state of the universe is the effect of its past and the cause of its future.” So, when we examine Enoch Burke’s case, it becomes clear that the real nature of his crimes was his opinions. Holding the wrong opinions set him on course to jail.

Even if you abstract his religious views, it is difficult to disagree that Enoch Burke was making an important point about resisting censorship. This became even more critical when it was revealed that the school had lied, endangering the safety of the child involved.

By defying the Court order, Enoch Burke is engaging in civil disobedience, a practice that is defended (in theory) by many woke apologists as a perfectly valid democratic institution. But when someone with opposing political views takes a stand, they turn against them with vicious hatred.

When Mahatma Gandhi did it, he was a symbol of resistance. When Rosa Parks did it, she was fierce and brave. When Nelson Mandela did it, he was a hero. But Enoch Burke? No, off with his head!

This naïve doublethink exposes the fact that the woke do not truly support civil disobedience, or at least they believe that it is contingent on politics. When someone dissents from their views, they rapidly demand uncivil obedience instead.

Enoch Burke is standing up for what he believes in, taking a stand that most people criticising him would lack the moral fiber to take. This enrages the woke because they disagree with his political or religious views. That’s not how democracy works; that’s fascism.

What, then, should we consider acceptable behaviour in the face of injustice? I agree it may not have been wise for Enoch Burke to defy the court order, as it gave the school’s board a perfect opportunity to vilify him. But his fate was already sealed when he took a stand for his Christian beliefs. Now that it has been revealed that the school lied, his fate might be unsealed.

Trans Men are Men… but Also Women, Trans Women are Women… but Also Men?

Excuse me while I feel extremely disappointed. Just when I thought I had the whole ‘trans x is x’ thing figured out, I got thrown under the bus by the uberwoke crowd.

First, Wellesley College students voted to admit trans men to the historied all-women institution. I was convinced that trans men were men. But now, the woke are now telling me that trans men are women?

On the other side of the North Channel from Ireland, the disgraced former Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, was recently sacked because she was too busy pandering to the woke crowd and not looking after Scotland’s priorities. The most emblematic case that caused her downfall was that of Isla Bryson (real name Adam Graham), a convicted rapist who identifies as a trans woman.

After dragging her feet for a long time, Ms. Sturgeon finally conceded that Isla Bryson, a trans woman, should be held in a male prison. I was convinced that trans women were women. But now, the woke are telling me that trans women are men?

I’m so confused I might just give up and join the woke crowd: life’s easier when your gang is the one with the pitchforks in their hands, anyway.

In the midst of all of this pantomime, and while Enoch Burke is still facing an application by the school to have his personal assets seized, the only other serious — and by far the most important — aspect remaining is: is anyone truly looking after the welfare of that kid?

What’s going on with this world?