Jon Del Arroz won’t be going to the Worldcon science fiction convention, even though he is the leading Hispanic voice in science fiction and he bought a ticket. The multi-award nominated military science fiction author was banned publicly from the upcoming festivities in San Jose, California, without ceremony or explanation by Worldcon’s Incident Response Team. “At this time we are converting your membership to Worldcon76 to a supporting membership as you will not be permitted to attend the convention. On your personal blog you have made it clear that you are both expecting and planning on engendering a hostile environment which we do not allow. If you are found on the premises of the convention center or any of the official convention hotels you will be removed,” the organizers wrote.
After sending that private email message to Del Arroz, they publicly denounced him on Facebook, Twitter, and Worldcon’s main website. Del Arroz was not given a reason for the banning even though he sent several messages inquiring about the alleged “incident” that triggered it. “Worldcon 76 has chosen to reduce Jonathan Del Arroz’s membership from attending to supporting,” they wrote. “We have taken this step because he has made it clear that he fully intends to break our code of conduct. We take that seriously….racist and bullying behavior is not acceptable at our Worldcon.”
The “racist or bullying” behavior was not explained and no evidence that it occurred was presented. Worldcon refused to tell Del Arroz what they objected to on his site. PJ Media reached out to Worldcon and was told there would be “no further comment” on the banning. Further investigation shows that Del Arroz had contacted Worldcon organizers to ask for help several weeks ago with concerns that his safety as a conservative author at the convention was being threatened by other attendees.
In August, Del Arroz was in talks with Convention Chair Kevin Roche about renting a table to sell his books at the event. Roche did not mention any concern at the time about Del Arroz and did not seem hesitant to take his money. However, by November, Del Arroz had alerted Roche to threats to his safety after receiving targeted harassment against his family in his home (including receiving a spring-loaded package of glitter shaped like penises). Roche did not respond.
Del Arroz reported that the doxing and pranking began when members of the Science Fiction Writers of America found out he would be attending Worldcon. File 770, an industry publication like Gawker for nerds, had been roiling about Del Arroz and his doubleplusungood opinions back in December. After one debate, Del Arroz received these emails from a File 770 user.
Del Arroz believes that exchange kicked off a coordinated email and social media campaign to have him banned from Worldcon. This event mirrors Diversity and Comics creator Richard Meyer’s experience with SJWs at Comic-Con when industry professionals plotted to goad him into a violent altercation (for having the audacity to criticize Marvel and DC Comics artists and writers who refuse to leave their politics out of comics). That action launched Comicsgate, which has resulted in the firing of far-left industry professionals and the cancelation of several books.
SciFiGate is clearly the next battle to explode in the culture wars. Much like the decisive defeat of SJWs at Marvel, Worldcon appears to be slitting its own wrists, determined to double down and risk potential legal liability by violating California’s public accommodation laws, preemptively banning a member of the public before he breaks any rules. Some have speculated that the banning is a result of Del Arroz planning to wear a body camera at the event. Del Arroz believes wearing a camera is the only reasonable action to take after Roche refused to respond to his concerns about safety.
“Worldcon refused to even acknowledge the very real threats to my person and family made by science fiction professionals and anonymous stalkers,” Del Arroz explained. “Based on that and what I saw with Diversity & Comics with the threats to frame him for a crime at a convention, I saw no other solution but to take precautions to have evidence in case someone attempted to harm or frame me similarly.”
Glitter bomb received at the Del Arroz household from harassers.
Del Arroz believes that the banning is politically motivated since he is not only a science fiction author but a strong conservative voice at The Federalist and Dangerous (Milo Yiannopoulos’s new venture) who routinely speaks out about the blacklisting of conservative voices in science fiction.
“With Worldcon’s statements about ‘intent’ to violate their rules, and failure to specify rules, this is a clear targeting over my politics because I’m a vocal Christian and Hispanic Trump supporter,” says Del Arroz. “The left claims I should be banned for controversial political opinions, but the only opinion I espouse on a regular basis is that artists should not be blackballed for their politics. That shouldn’t be a controversial topic. It is imperative that artists be free from fear of retaliation of their industry in order that they might create great works of art. This is the ultimate free speech issue.”
Del Arroz is contracted as a writer for Castalia House’s spectacular answer to SJW Marvel, Alt*Hero, which will issue a major challenge to social justice messaging in comics. PJ Media reached out to Castalia’s lead editor, Vox Day, for his take on the blacklisting. “The decision of the SJWs at the 2018 Worldcon to ban a well-known Hispanic conservative from attending the event is not surprising,” said Day. “It is, however, not a little ironic, as they have historically had no problem permitting child molesters and convicted sex criminals to attend Worldcons over the years, including Walter Breen, Arthur C. Clarke, David Asimov, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Edward E. Kramer.” The Walter Breen incident with Worldcon was especially horrifying as told by his daughter Moira Greyland Peat in her latest tell-all, The Last Closet, which describes her life growing up in a pagan LGBTQWTF family and spills the darkest secrets of a science fiction community that turned a blind eye to child sex abuse.
Reactions by other authors have been swift and biting.
No serious author would have a thing to do with @worldcon2018 after their intolerant bigotry in regards to @jondelarroz
Plus they have no idea what Science Fiction is.— Nick Cole (@NickColeBooks) January 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/NotJonMollison/status/948659446007263232
Banning someone for what he MIGHT do is ridiculous #FreeJDA
— Masha "Not A Russian Bot" K. (@Mashak99) January 3, 2018
Perhaps not coincidentally, on the same day he was banned from Worldcon, Del Arroz was also notified that his Facebook has been shut down over this photo of him holding a Kekistani flag (an ironic joke that Trump supporters use to illustrate that they are an oppressed minority that is continually silenced. It is often accompanied by #FreeKekistan. The “Ks” on the flag spell KEK — gamer slang for LOL. Seriously. But the SJW left and now Facebook claim it’s a hate flag that has something to do with the KKK –it doesn’t). While the announcement from Facebook says they removed the post, Del Arroz reported that he was locked out of his account for several hours today.
When will this oppression and censorship end? #FreeJDA #SciFiGate.
PJ Media will continue to monitor the situation and update as the story evolves.
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