Can anyone tell me why the DUP are so hellbent on Brexit....

[Oakenbeach]

.... even if that means we crash out in 31 October? It seems to make no sense for a party whose overriding top priority and raison d’etre is the remain in the UK... Don’t they see this that a no-deal Brexit is the biggest threat to the union for NI in a century? It seems totally insane, far more so even than the mainland British no-dealers! What am I missing?

A project for over my dead body!

There has already proven to be dirty money with the DUP and Brexit.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-44624299
The party is also incredibly corrupt.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a deal with the DUP and the Conservatives to keep Stormont mothballed. Karen Bradley certainly isn’t a brain of Britain.
The problem they’ll have under unification is what to do with the Loyalists. The ROI does not have the experience to deal with terrorists on that scale. The PSNI has retired its officers who could have handled it.

Hopefully, a majority would realise that a UI now is not going to be the same as the idealised vision it might have been 100 years ago. Too much water under the bridge. No way could Ireland take on the complete political mess that is NI.

Thanks @TeaKettleBell - I'll have a read of that link.

{A project for over my dead body!}
I am afraid I find that a disappointing attitude as it is one that perpetuates the problems.
The DUP are backwards looking and divisive, but it would be good to hope that the majority in NI want to enjoy a happy, safe and secure life, the same as everyone else.

A United Ireland would appear to solve many issues and give many people what they wanted.

Majority of Irish (NI and ROI) get what they want

The majority of NI who voted remain get what they want

WA can pass as there is no border issue to resolve

The two member states who voted Leave, Wales and England, get what they want.

That leaves Scotland then to decide what they want by having a Second Referendum.

Please don't assume that a majority want a UI. I'm sceptical about any polls saying so.

Ireland has to 'unwind' from 800 years of resentment over past wrongdoings and as such UI is NOT the solution to Brexit.
How the people feel in another generation, maybe more is where it gets important.

What a majority wants @1tisILeClerc and what would actually happen in real terms in the event of a UI in the next decade are vastly different things.
In real terms, in the event, the DUP and unionists and loyalists would re-start violence, with Dublin now becoming THE target. While it's a lovely notion to have Ireland a nation once again, in reality it's simply not feasible without massive uproar, upheaval, destruction and madness on a scale not yet seen!

It would end in tears and would be very bloody. People polled probably are thinking about the lovely idea, without having thought it through at all - the run up to a referendum on such a notion would open their eyes.

NI is very similar to the situation in Palestine. There has been no resolution there and there will be no easy answer in NI. They're too difficult to deal with.

Bear in mind that this is the sentiment you're dealing with in NI.

Thump
What you want, or it appears you don't want, is not necessarily what you children or grandchildren might want. You seem to be admitting defeat before actually trying, and it is the negative attitude that is all pervasive.
Start out with 3 sheets of paper. Problems on one, aspirations on the second and scribble possible ways to achieve the aspirations on the third.
The situation in Palestine only became an acute problem when the British waded in and stirred up unrest. There are of course many complications in that region but it is the failure of diplomacy and politicians that allows it to continue, particularly when the playing field is far from level due to external influences.

The achievements made in the Belfast agreement were deemed 'impossible', but they have led to 20 years of relative peace. The progress made could endure if the UK government had sufficient integrity and nouse, but the ham fisted approach to Brexit is likely to create more unrest.

What you may perceive as a negative attitude is a realistic opinion on how things will actually play out in reality.

You don't know how vociferously unionists oppose a UI.

These are not reasonable human beings we're talking about here.

And I for one am not willing to dabble with the potential for my children dying at the hands of loyalist and unionist paramilitaries in the event of a United Ireland. You can see still that 20 years post GFA, so a generation later, unionists still hold significant power. The feelings are as strong today as they were 30 years ago among those people. This will not change in my lifetime. And therefore, a UI would be lunacy to consider in my lifetime.

The economic implications of a UI would be detrimental to Ireland. When/if a debate on UI occurs, at the end of the day, people are going to think about their lives, the lives of their children and their wallets. Only ideological nationalists from Ireland (the Republic) would vote for a UI. You've got to understand that the older IRA supporters/fenians/republicans are now mostly dead and gone - younger voters never had Ireland as a single nation under Britain. They're used to Ireland being Ireland and NI being a separate country. They really don't have that same longing to be 'a nation once again' as their ancestors. Long and short of it? They couldn't give a fuck about having NI.

Thump
So what is your solution, keep killing each other forever?

I think NI needs to remain part of the UK, the DUP needs to be gotten out of power and a soft border remains.

Thought a United Ireland is what the Irish people wanted?

No, it’s a financial cesspit and ROI would be mad to allow their economy to take that hit.

Plus, full union with either state (ROI or UK) will lead to a resurgence in violence. Nobody wants that.
Except the DUP.

A hard border will raise Nationalist tensions among NI citizens. AND the staunch nationalists in Ireland.
Nothing would satisfy the DUP more than a hard border again.

I think the DUP knows that UI isn't going to happen, hence their preference for no deal - which will give them a hard border.

You have to realise that the DUP don't hold what I would call normal political views. They are extremists.

Please don't assume that a majority want a UI. I'm sceptical about any polls saying so.

There is not a snowball's chance in hell that the electorate in ROI will reject it, especially if the people of NI already voted in favour. You can ignore polls that don't agree with your opinion all you want, but it doesn't change the situation.

I know plenty of people who share your view, but there's no evidence to suggest that it's anywhere approaching a majority view.

For all the downsides (which the EU would give us significant assistance with), there are many positives in having an all island economy.

@DesMartinsPetCat Agreed.

For all the downsides

You think when actually told to put their money where their mouth is that Irish people would risk peace in Ireland? Not a snowball's chance in hell!

Plus, I don't think that how NI voted would particularly sway Ireland in how it would vote.
Please don't think we're similar.

In the 'bad old days' of empires such 'problems would be eased by having them all shot.
Americans exterminating native Americans, Australia, Russia the UK, most of the European countries.