AT a time when the focus of everyone should be on protecting lives and supporting our health service against the ongoing threat from coronavirus, it is deeply depressing that some in our society have turned their minds to violent acts.
This paper reported yesterday how loyalist anger over the Northern Ireland Protocol could lead to an escalation in violence in the run-up to Christmas.
Sources cited frustration with the DUP and an as-yet unfulfilled threat to bring down the political institutions if demands are not met.
The hijacking and burning of a bus in Newtownards at the start of this month coincided with a deadline for action to remove the Irish Sea border.
That attack was unequivocally condemned by DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, but his threat to bring down Stormont still stands despite negotiations continuing between Brussels and London.
Belfast's Court of Appeal is currently also hearing a challenge by unionists to the lawfulness of the protocol, amid claims it conflicts with constitutional guarantees in the Acts of Union.
It should not be surprising that if political leaders repeatedly characterise the protocol as an existential threat, some disaffected loyalists may feel tempted to take matters into their own hands.
The reality is of course is very different.
The agreement between the EU and the British government was an attempt to recognise the special circumstances of Northern Ireland following an unwanted Brexit, avoiding the imposition of a land border by keeping the region in the single market for goods.
Far from representing a constitutional threat, recent polls have suggested people see the protocol in pragmatic terms, offering the prospect of enjoying the 'best of both worlds'.
In an interview today, leading economist David McWilliams argues persuasively that dual access to EU and UK markets represents an "extraordinary opportunity".
“You could actually do what the Republic did, but do it even better, in terms of attracting foreign capital and in terms of attracting in foreign talent... It’s kind of like an open goal.”
While some practical problems around the Irish Sea border undoubtedly need addressed, the rhetoric of unionists and the British government does not reflect the views of most businesses and ordinary people across the community.
If the constitutional arrangements on this island are ever to change, it will be because unionists have failed to provide a positive vision for Northern Ireland which priorities relationships and prosperity and instead allowed malign elements to set the agenda.
