IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Harvard’s dismissal of Roland Sullivan et ux. still bothers me [clarification:  they were dismissed as “faculty deans” at Winthrop, not from Harvard altogether]. There have been a lot of craven actions to satisfy crybullies lately, but the l’affaire Sullivan may be the worst.

I can’t help thinking about the Twilight Zone episode, It’s a Good Life. In it, the adults will do anything to please Anthony, a child with god-like powers to read minds and to punish wrongthink by turning people into unpleasant objects. Once someone is so punished, the other adults beg Anthony to banish him “to the cornfield” to spare themselves the horror of being reminded of his fate. The difference—and it’s an important one—is that at least Anthony really was powerful. Harvard crybullies are only powerful because others respond to their demands.

Here’s a heavily edited version of the episode. Here’s the jack-in-the-box scene, and here’s a radio version.