I was disappointed to read this post on Slugger yesterday. After congratulating the Harryville Ulster-Scots Society just a few weeks ago on having a UDA mural replaced by a new one promoting Ulster-Scots culture, I'm dismayed to read that the mural is to be painted over with a fresh UDA one.

The move comes after Republicans have failed to live up to their part of the deal which saw the mural replaced (ie removing tricolours from another part of the town) by putting up more tricolours than there were in the first place.

This is not the first time Republicans have deliberately provoked unionists and loyalists to create controversy, but yet they seem to fall for it every time. Instead of taking the moral high ground and expressing their disappointment at the failure of Republicans to adhere to a compromise with their British neighbours, the loyalists of the area have decided the best way to retaliate is to blight their own community, once again, with a mural honouring a murderous gang, responsible for the deaths of many people, Protestant and Catholic alike.

When will they learn? Look guys, it's not too late. Instead of cutting off your nose to spite your face, leave the Ulster-Scots mural there. It'll instill a much greater sense of pride among your own community, as well as demonstrating to the world the world that the republicans in question are completely unreasonable.

Update
Apparently there's a row over who started it. Surprising, no?