We do not accommodate our enemies
The Ax“We do not accommodate our enemies” is Burke’s declaration of opposition after a detective’s handling of Billy’s case overturns his faith in the police. The phrase turns his conviction that his family is being treated as paperwork into a rule for action, and its use of “we” binds Billy to Burke’s newly defined conflict.
Context and Meaning
The expression follows the detective’s appeal to Marjorie to urge Billy to confess, put the matter behind him, and let the family return to normal life. Burke hears this not as reassurance but as evidence that the detective regards Billy—and the rest of the family—as administrative trouble rather than as people. In Burke’s interpretation, the police are acting for themselves, not to safeguard the family or its home.
A Turn Toward Opposition
Burke’s thought moves from identifying the detective as an enemy to applying that judgment to Billy as well: the two of them, he concludes, now know what to do about enemies. The maxim therefore does more than express anger. It recasts the family’s situation as a conflict in which accommodation is ruled out, and makes Burke’s suspicion of the detective into a shared stance on Billy’s behalf.
Dramatic Consequence
The declaration changes the emotional balance of the conversation. Marjorie understands what Burke is saying and becomes less sympathetic to the detective; he recognizes that he has lost her and turns to the forms. Before he can fill them out, Marjorie asks to take Billy home. The detective refuses for that night, explaining that Billy will appear before a judge in the morning and that a lawyer can request his release into their custody. Against this procedural exchange, Burke’s maxim sounds less like a passing complaint than a decision to treat the authorities as adversaries.
