This just adds to the idea that sql kind of sucks in terms of usability. For the record I always use sql, but let's be honest with ourselves.

Are you implying you're not supposed to use joins in SQL?

I think he's implying that finding joins difficult is a sign of immaturity of the developer rather than a problem with the language.

Joins might be tricky if you are unused to them, but they are the secret sauce of relational databases. They are what make it possible to have dozens of views on a single normalized data structure.