In a stunning display of hypocrisy, the chair of DisCon III apologizes for accepting sponsorship from Raytheon, days after Chengdu, China was selected as the site for the 2023 WorldCon. Apparently a dictatorship that is running actual concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims and implementing oppressive anti-free speech policies in Hong Kong is morally acceptable but the space exploration branch of a defense contractor is not.
Instead of returning the money, the DisCon III leadership chose to make a donation to an unnamed “organization dedicated to peace.” Ethics is clearly not these organizers’ strong suit.
