Patrick Burke in front of one of his hand painted messages on the exterior of his home. Alec Spicer

Local Denton resident’s controversial message sparks conversation

Less than half a mile away from campus at the corner of Panhandle and Malone sits the easily eye-grabbing home of Patrick Burke. With cryptic messages like “EARTH IS FLAT” and “gravity doesn’t exist” painted on the exterior of his house in bright white and neon colors, it’s no surprise that interest in the man behind the walls is growing.

A graduate of TCU and carpenter/general contractor during the day, Burke, 36, insists he’s a regular guy who just happens to be outwardly passionate about what he believes in.

“I get that some of the things I’m saying seem ridiculous on the surface, but I promise there’s more behind it,” Burke said, “It’s not like I’m saying I think Barack Obama is secretly a lizard or anything wild like that.”

Finding Flat Earth

Although originally from Chicago, Burke moved to Denton from Arlington just over nine years ago after his younger brother enrolled at UNT. However, it wasn’t until Burke got to Denton that he found himself gravitating toward what he refers to as the “flat earther movement.” This self-described enlightenment wasn’t immediate, though, as Burke admits he only began to seriously explore his beliefs fairly recently.

“I haven’t always known about this stuff. I’d say just within the last 2 and half or 3 years is when I really started getting into it.”

While it may still be a relatively new embracement for him, Burke says that the signs leading him to his beliefs were unmistakable.

The unapologetic flat earther attributes the catalyst of this process to when he stumbled upon “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon,” a documentary focused on the validity of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

“I had a hard time believing in the moon landing, to begin with before, but that film is what solidified it for me,” Burke said.

From there, he began casual research on the controversial moment in history until he ultimately discovered YouTube videos made by a man named Eric Dubay. With over 91,000 subscribers and just under 19 million views, Dubay is often credited with leading the modern exposure of what his YouTube bio says is “the new world order.”

“I agree with a lot of the things [Dubay] says, and his information definitely holds the most ground among many flat earthers,” Burke said.

Burke is a nonbeliever of evolution, climate change or a spherical earth. He does believe in God and that the idea of one continuous, flat plane that we’re living on easily corresponds with a belief in a higher power.

“Make no mistake, God and a flat earth are absolutely on a mutual course, there’s no doubt,” Burke said.

Curvature Killer

No concept is as unfounded as the idea of gravity, though, according to Burke. One of the fundamental beliefs of flat earthers is that without a curved horizon when looking into the distance, there can’t be a logical explanation for the existence of gravity.

“If there’s no curve, there’s no gravity. Period,” Burke said. “If you’re six foot two and your feet are on the ground as you’re standing in front of the ocean, there should be a curve in vision, and there isn’t.”

This idea of an absence of curvature isn’t something Burke took into consideration without applied measurement, either.

In fact, after almost a year of studying this, he finally found an opportunity to find out for himself once and for all. On May 11, 2015, with an old telescope he bought at a resale store, Burke stopped by the beach on the way to his cousin’s wedding in Florida.

“I thought to myself ‘this is it,'” Burke said. “If the earth really is flat, everything is about to make sense.”

As he focused his telescope on a pier with a view of about six miles away, Burke was elated to see what he believed to be true for so long, was finally confirmed.

“I was freaking out,” Burke said. “I had finally just found out for myself that the earth is actually flat. It was around sunset too, and it was just a really beautiful moment.”

Regardless of what he believes to be true, Burke is acutely aware of the conversation surrounding his message from skeptics.

“It comes with the territory I think,” Burke said. “I’m about to tell people the earth is flat so there’s obviously going to be pushback.”

That same expectation is what left him unsurprised when he received written complaints from the city of Denton just months after painting messages on his home, spreading beach chairs across his lawn and placing a telescope in his truck bed.

The complaints have to do directly with his “portable,” “non-conforming” signs.

“I had a vision, it was all a theme for how to awaken others,” Burke said. “But it was a theme that was apparently worth $800 in fines.”

Despite the resistance to his efforts of making his message visual, Burke remains a proud Dentonite committed to sharing his knowledge on the subject.

“I feel like this is what I owe to the world,” Burke said. “It’s the reality of it. I’m not theorizing a damn thing and if anything, I’m a conspiracy realist.”

Even with all of the controversy surrounding his views, Burke is optimistic as he regularly welcomes curious Denton locals to stop by for anything they might have questions about.

“Even in just the past few weeks, I’ve noticed more people in Denton seem to be waking up,” Burke said. “Half of them think I’m crazy and half of them are realizing I’m right about all of this.”

Being labeled crazy isn’t something the polarizing yet approachable flat earther spends a lot of time thinking about, however.

And even if others don’t believe him, Burke is perfectly content with believing in what he knows to be true.

“It’s so easy for people to make something like this look insane,” Burke said. “And if I end up being wrong about all of it then go ahead and strap me down and admit me, but I highly doubt that I am.”

Featured Image: Patrick Burke in front of one of his hand painted messages on the exterior of his home. Alec Spicer