There is no mystery about the grassroots unionist anger that has led to street violence in Northern Ireland in recent weeks. Telling communities to be angry has been the political strategy of unionist leaders for decades. The immediate cause of the unrest was the decision not to seek prosecutions of Sinn Féin representatives for pandemic regulation breaches at a major republican funeral last June. Rather than waiting for reviews of the actions of the police and Public Prosecution Service to run their course, unionist parties claimed that the leadership of Northern Ireland’s police force was biased in favour of republicans and had “lost the confidence of the unionist community”. Rioting against the police began in working-class unionist, or “loyalist”, areas. Unionist politicians condemned the unrest but took to the airwaves to “explain” the frustration of the teenage rioters.