From: wiggins@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (Don Wiggins)
Subject: Membership Decision
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 20:54:42 GMT

For the past few months I've been trying to decide whether I want to
continue my membership in MENSA.  I've been a member for about eight
years, so this isn't a decision I take lightly.  I've always felt a
quiet pride in having qualified for membership, even though almost no
one around me knows that I'm a member.

I have decided not to renew.  

There are a number of reasons for this decision, and since this is
membership renewal time for everyone, I thought it might be appropriate
to explain why one member is leaving.  Since flames seem to be a
fundamental part of this group, kindly forward them directly to
/dev/null.

To be fair, I must say up front that I've never attended any MENSA
gatherings, local or otherwise.  My work and travel schedules have made
it very difficult for me to participate, though I probably could have
done better if I'd really tried.  I have met two or three people who
were members and they seemed like almost rational folks. <wink>

To begin with, I qualified for MENSA at about the same time that I was
going through a major career change.  At that point in my life I think
I really needed the positive reinforcement that MENSA membership
provided and I'll always be grateful for that help during what was a 
very difficult time for me.

In one of the first newsletters that I received as a new member I
learned that there was a tremendous amount of unrest in the local
group and eventually the locsec was removed by the RVC for generally
being a disruptive influence.  The battles between two major factions
in the local group were described in detail in the newsletter during
that period, which is the main reason why I never really got into the
habit of attending meetings in the first place.

The local chapter appeared to be struggling through one or two more
power struggles after that and eventually most of the meetings were
held in another city.  I believe that some meetings may still be held
locally every now and then, but I'm not sure.

The annual membership fee is a definite turn-off.  For the most part
I've enjoyed reading MENSA magazine, which is one of the main reasons
I've maintained my membership all these years.  I've always felt that
the magazine was very nearly worth the price of membership (45 bucks??).

During the past year or so, however, I just haven't found much in the
magazine that appeals to me.  Several weeks ago I posted a note in this
group expressing my irritation with the anti-Bush/anti-Perot cartoons
that appeared in one issue, and wondered whether the editors would
balance that out with an anti-Clinton cartoon sometime before the
election.  Someone posted a response that they (MENSA) can only publish
what they receive, which was a pretty weak argument.  The organization
may claim to be apolitical, but seems to demonstrate otherwise.
They're certainly free to take a position on political issues, but they
will have to do it without my support.

Finally, my leaving is based more on apathy than anything else.  I just
can't think of a good reason to stay. I've drawn some comfort in the
past from knowing that I belonged to a group that can do one thing
better than 98% of the general population.  While that realization has
probably helped me get through some momentary setbacks, it's not
enough to keep me around any longer.

Best of luck to the rest of you, and I hope that you continue to derive
some pleasure from your membership.

Don Wiggins
Internet: wiggins@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa