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"I can't believe anyone can be that stupid!" he yelled at me. I smiled politely. "No sir. I'm very sorry." As he left, conversation around the shop returned to normal - apparently trivia about the television, and famous actors, in case another Mensa were to enter unexpectedly. In truth, we each translated our conversation on the fly, in-depth conversation about the political issues of the day; today's issue was how to prevent the Mensas from trying to 'help the environment' - they meant well, evidently not realising how much harm it would do to replace the ozone layer or reduce carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere. They weren't all literally members of Mensa - it was just a convenient appelation, indicative of their smug so-called superiority. The genuine members of the 'Mensa' society were, admittedly, amongst the worst of the Mensas, convinced they know more than the rest of us, and mutually feeding each others' egos to maintain the illusion. Other similar cliques, less pretentious but equally destructive, would form and reform as time goes on - we call them all Mensas. The internet, sadly, made this effect far more pronounced, as mailing lists became an ideal forum for smugness feedback. Sometimes one of us would suggest that the Mensas be taught, shown the true workings of society - that maybe they weren't really as stupid as we think. I sympathised with the view. I had put it forward myself, when I was younger. Have you ever tried to tell a Mensa that you know something they don't? It simply doesn't work. It's like they're willfully blind. In an ironic way, the Mensas are very amusing. They complain about how 'stupid' people run everything. The president, the owner of their company, their manager, "Why is it that stupid people get the power?". Why do you think? Have you never wondered why 'smart' people like yourself, young Mensa, don't take the power? Why don't you take it? I'll tell you, it's because you can't. You don't know how to manipulate. You don't know how to run things. The only reason you can even organise your own lives is because we feed you the information. We who you deride as stupid, who you ignore at every opportunity. It only takes a little more thought to realise who the really stupid people are. We're happy, of course. We don't mind you thinking we're stupid. We take it as a compliment; a tribute to our acting skill. We know how uncomfortable it makes Mensas to encounter people they perceive as smarter than themselves. Imagine the effect it would have if they knew how we really are. No, everyone's happier this way - they in their smug superiority, and we, content. We have everything we could possibly need, and no need to show off about it. Another Mensa came in and placed an order. "Do you want fries with that?" |
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Clare Maguire > 6dec2002 > The Face of The Future |
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