I think it doesn't really matter what people learn as a first programming language. Eventually, any serious programmer will become familiar with the most common

I think it doesn't really matter what people learn as a first programming language. Eventually, any serious programmer will become familiar with the most common languages and paradigms, C being one of them. It may not be the best choice for beginners, but it's valid nonetheless. People can have fun learning algorithms without worrying too much about pointers and complicated type declarations. It's not like it's going to mess up their brain and prevent them from learning higher-level languages later on.