cop-out

by Paul Niquette
Copyright ©1996 Resource Books All rights reserved.

cop-out n. Slang. 
  1. An act of copping out; especially failure to commit oneself. 
  2. A person who cops out. [From "cop a plea," to plead guilty (to a lesser charge), from cop, to seize, from cop, short for copper, policeman, "catcher," from cop, to catch (hmm, not from the metal used in badges?).]


"Sensitivity training" -- when did that all start.  Was it the 1960's?  "Encounter groups," they were called for awhile.  Then "personal growth," I recall.

To say that many of the popular group therapy ideas which flourished throughout the 1970's exploited intuitive needs and enjoyed a popular appeal, not only in business and government but also in family and personal life, yet, lacking a firm basis in scientific thought, gradually diverged from practical realities and spiralled inexorably into epic nonsense -- to say something like that is too judgmental.

"Hey, that's a cop-out!"
Well, I admit, my personal knowledge is limited to only one early "T-Group" experience and some observations on the sidelines, a few books, and --
"You're doing it again!  Commit yourself!"
All right, the stuff is epic nonsense.
"You're being too judgmental!"
Maybe I did go a bit too far.
"That's a cop-out!"
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