> the vast vast majority of c++ is just simple procedural code.

Probably because where C++ is needlessly complex, C is beautifully simple.

I've used both C and C++ in my career, spending 10+ years as a C programmer (kernels, applications and embedded stuff), as well as 4-5 years as a C++ programmer in a financial institution.

I find the thing most "new C/C++ programmers" complain about is memory management and type safety, but honestly, once you have a few years worth of experience, memory management is almost second nature. Most of the time i write the free() statement at the same time as i write the malloc() statement (if applicable).

One of the things I loved about Python when I learnt it was how it dealt with `public`\`private`\protected``. It was "we're all responsible adults. No need to hide anything. We'll just use a naming convention for members that we don't expect people to directly use."

"Enforce encapsulation" suddenly became. "Respect encapsulation" in my head and a bunch of Java/C++ problems evaporated.