I don't doubt that generics are very useful, but its a problem when every thread that mentions Go gets polluted by bitching from people who can't code without them.
I work with SQL mostly, and in find common table expressions very useful to simplify and (in some cases) enhance performance. When faced with a choice between MySQL and PostgreSQL, I could either 1) choose to gripe about the lack of CTEs in MySQL, or 2) use PostgreSQL.
Something about generics make so many people on HN choose the equivalent of (1).