What if your products are used by the military?

This week, Microsoft announced its second generation HoloLense augmented reality device. This again kicked up some anti-military rhetoric and opposition to the company's stance on government contracts. Microsoft is planning to sell 100,000 HoloLense headsets to the US army in a contract worth $480 million. A small number of employees posted an open letter to the company asking Microsoft to cancel the contract. They stated that "we do not want to become war profiteers."

I'm not here to make an argument for or against the military. I just want to consider some of the implications of the employees' statement.

1. The military already spends millions of dollars on existing Microsoft technology and software.
2. Any technology used by the military is used for the purposes of the military, including war and lethality. A desktop OS, an email server, and an augmented reality device are all part of the same system.
3. If you philosophically don't want to make weapons, then how do you treat members of the armed service? This is a free country and you can be a pacifist if you want. Just realize that by saying you don't want to make weapons, you're effectively poking the eye of every service member.
4. Have you considered the endless evil purposes that any technology could potentially be used for? Any company making anything for good, can have their technology used for something that they don't agree with or that is evil. I feel quite safe in saying that both Democrats and Republicans use Microsoft technology. I don't have hard facts to back this up, but I'd guess that foreign governments, repressive/abusive governments, drug traffickers, and human traffickers all use technologies from the largest tech companies.

So far, Microsoft has held its position on the contract. I'm not here to give them a pat on the back,
but I do think it's important to make principled decisions and not be swayed by
the latest opinions.