More “Mental Gymnastics” From The Pundits As They Try To Airbrush Kent’s Punch.

There is nothing worse than being told that you cannot trust your eyes or your ears, that what you think you saw and heard isn’t what actually happened. It’s the insult to your intelligence that gets you first; your automatic reaction is “these people think I’m an idiot.”

But really, aren’t those people the real idiots? They certainly sound like idiots as they try to justify the unjustifiable, as they try to twist reality into a shape of their own choosing. They certainly don’t come across like people playing it straight.

When Ange Postecoglou sat in front of the media and commented on the Goldson incident he offered a withering critique of those engaging in “mental gymnastics” as they sought to find a legitimate reason for not giving the penalty. The same process is being rolled out today as the frantic scramble to make allowances for Kent gets fully underway.

There is virtually no chance that Kent will be cited by the SFA for that. Because the fix is in already and the excuses are being made for him by an entire parade of people, none of whom, by the way, have denied that he got off with one because they all know that a red card could have been flashed for it and that he’d have had very little complaint.

Instead, the excuses are being made for why he wasn’t. It’s been described as a “swipe not a punch” – which is frankly nonsensical – for which only a yellow would have been given. But violent conduct is violent conduct whether with a punch or not, and it’s off the ball so it’s not really anything else.

Others have talked about the “speed” at which the fist crashes into Scales head, and I grant you that a bullet striking you at 1 mile per hour isn’t going to do you damage the way a high velocity hit will but someone firing it at you would presumably still be held responsible for attempted murder.

This is exactly the sort of “mental gymnastics” big Ange was talking about, and the proof that these people will spin anything their way or blow whatever smoke they think they need to. And they wonder why we don’t trust a word they write or say.