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?

Basically, the Irish were quite happy until they were invaded by the Vikings, then the Normans and then the Brits jumped on the bandwagon. Except the Brits couldn't assimilate - those psychopathic sadists had to endeavour to enslave and torture and subjugate the Irish people. The Vikings, came, they saw, they stole. The Normans came, they saw, they liked what they saw and merged. The fucking Brits? They came, they saw, they tortured, killed, maimed and destroyed.

What the Vikings wanted was our gold and such. What the Normans wanted - fuck knows - but mainly they weren't TOO bad. But the fucking Brits? They needed to terrorise our people, 'try and FAIL to break our spirit and basically just be utter cunts.

That's why Ireland has no beef with Vikings or Normans but an entire roast cow of beef with British.

Someone else mentioned IRA first, I simply said there was no NEED for them.
The UK government is not representing me or my wishes.
How does a claymore come into peaceful activities like knitting or raising cattle? Could it be for hacking people you don't like to death?
It is a weapon carried when you are going out to kill, not a discrete knife that could be carried for self defence.

This is all by the bye, I am in agreement with many in the EU negotiating team that the most practical solution to a necessary goods border is to make the necessary checks at the ports or even during the voyage.

So, the people of NI get to have a choice of passports, Irish (continuing in the EU), and British. I could feel peeved about that, in fact I do, because I am only allowed a British passport.

The UK government IS representative of you and everyone else who elected them.

{The fucking Brits?}
So will they be the ones from France, Germany the Norse countries, the Middle East, or central Europe?

I fear that many have only read the British interpretation of history, which obviously isn't sympathetic to the Irish.

For example, did anyone know that of the 14 shot after the Easter Rising, only 7 were actually involved and two weren't even there?

Hardly the actions of a fair and scrupulous government. Ironically, the Rising didn't have much sympathy from the majority of Irish people until afterwards, when many saw the brutality meted out to civilians by the British army.

Google Ballymurphy, it's a real eye opener as to the truth and it's not in the distant past either.

The IRA weren't heroes, but neither were the British army in many ways.

The response of a senior officer when being told that they were pulling bodies out of the Rossville flats on Bloody Sunday was "it's alright Alan".

Again, hardly the actions of the Knights in shining armour.

The attitude that the Irish should just fall in line because Britain said so, even after centuries of warfare, is depressingly predictable.

No self awareness at all.

Yeah, Thump is dead well informed. Such a friendly username too.

Those that I have voted for in the past have never been in the acting government, and only rarely the direct opposition.

{The fucking Brits?} So will they be the ones from France, Germany the Norse countries, the Middle East, or central Europe?

The English ones.

@InTheHeatofLisbon
"The IRA weren't heroes".

You don't say.

How does a claymore come into peaceful activities like knitting or raising cattle?

Why would an Irishman have a Scots weapon? Oh and the reason the Scots had them was to combat crown forces during the highland clearances.

To defend their land from invaders. It didn't work, clearly.

Hello Mr. Unionist! Welcome to the discussion.................

You don't say.

Neither were the Brits who shot unarmed civilians at Ballymurphy, including a priest waving a white handkerchief trying to help a gravely wounded man, nor the Paras who drove past a child on the day of her father's funeral singing "where's your papa gone?" (They'd shot him dead during the massacre).

It's easy to see things from one side eh?

To me, the IRA were necessary. Simple as that. You can argue until the cows come home that they were terrorist mercenaries but they were not - they just wanted the British out of Ireland.

Now that the Brits in the form of present day Unionist lunatics are firmly planted in NI - they can fucking keep it!

{{The fucking Brits?} So will they be the ones from France, Germany the Norse countries, the Middle East, or central Europe?
The English ones.}

The 'English' have been a mongrel 'race' for many centuries, due to being invaded so many times, sometimes aggressively, so in a way the 'English' don't exist.

The only 'Union' I am interested in now is the European Union, one that tries to improve things where possible.

The Irish historically carried out plenty of their own raids, land grabs and religious assimilation on the west coast of Scotland. This however was absolutely par for the course during the relevant periods of history.
One of major successes of the GFA is that it managed to move NI forward from the entrenched positions on either side. There is enough blame to be shared handsomely on both sides.
It was thoroughly irresponsible for a subsection of English politicians to create this situation without any thought about how to solve it.
I would also suggest the NI people haven't helped themselves by voting into Westminster seats those that they did. ( although the Scottish experience shows that even with a pretty united political front the smaller countries struggle to have much political impact)

dreichhighlands well said!

Oh and it was project fear about the SNP gaining that allowed the DUP in the back door.

Navel gazing causes all manner of problems doesn't it? But then, easily said in hindsight.

You just have to watch the SNP MPs being jeered and talked over, every damn time in Westminster to see how little respect the elite has for the Union.

One even shouted "go home then" at an SNP MP!

"To me, the IRA were necessary"
Not letting you get away with that one without comment. Murdering fucking gangster bastards.

The English don't give a fuck though...

Murdering fucking gangster bastards

A necessary defence force.

Bellinisurge - you're not Irish - you're half Irish - therefore English I presume - I wouldn't expect you to understand.

Murdering fucking gangster bastards

Can you honestly not see why an Irish Catholic (not making assumptions about Thump btw) would say the same about the British forces or loyalists?

Because nobody, nobody covered themselves in glory did they? All murdered innocents, and glorified it.

But somehow with a regimental badge it's ok? I call bullshit. Anyone who murders innocents is a murdering gangster bastard, I don't give a shit where their loyalty lies.

But if the Irish and Northern Irish people can put all that pain, all that division and all that suffering behind them and sit round the same table to bring peace, what right do the Tories have to shred that peace because they need a bargaining chip?

The GFA was groundbreaking, it showed incredible strength and dignity on all sides and stood as testament to what good people can do.

It's being treated as little more than an irrelevance and people genuinely wonder why that's an issue?

Surely everyone can agree with @InTheHeatofLisbon last post.

dreichhighlands thank you.