Lisp's hostile reputation dates back to when most language discussions happened on comp.lang.lisp on Usenet and the toxic environment created by Erik Naggum and

Lisp's hostile reputation dates back to when most language discussions happened on comp.lang.lisp on Usenet and the toxic environment created by Erik Naggum and his acolytes. It's a hard reputation to shake, apparently, seeing that it's a subject that still comes up decades later.