The posts do share an erroneous, implied assumption that the investment in learning each language is equal. Python has a strong competitive advantage over Java and C++ in terms of learnability. A person can get up to speed in a few days with Python. That certainly is not true for C++ which is more of a lifetime learning project.
The negative reaction is likely due to the phrasing of the question in choosing popular language X over language Y. But if Y is easy to learn, there is no reason for it to preclude X. As a career builder, it is better to be able to work with multiple languages. So, I would recommend Python to these folks as an easily acquired extra skill. Raymond Hettinger -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
