Why did you choose not to join Mensa?

Last Updated: 01.07.2025 11:49

Why did you choose not to join Mensa?

Back in high school, I qualified for MENSA on the basis of my SAT scores (690 math/750 English). I went to one meeting, and…

I realize it might be unfair to judge the entire organization from a single meeting, but it was so, so bad.

Never in my entire life up to that point had I ever seen a collection of such smug, self-congratulatory wankers, because in 1984 veganism hadn’t emerged as an identity yet. That one meeting convinced me that this was a collection of mostly guys (there was only one woman) much more interested in eating cheese and fellating each other over how clever they are than doing anything interesting, so I never went back.

What do you think of the 2 female 18 and 19 year-old German tourists, detained in Honolulu, strip-searched, put in green jumpsuits, placed in a holding cell and the next day deported, for the terrible crime of not pre-booking a hotel for their trip?