The problem, I think, or at least part of the problem, is that it is hard to discuss the relative merits and problems of languages (frameworks, operating systems, ...) without feeling like somebody is trying to push his/her favorite piece of tech on somebody else.

If we discuss what e.g. Java does better than Go and vice versa for purely technical interest, there is little emotional pressure. But if I feel that somebody is trying to make me use Java (or Rust, or C++, or Visual Basic) over whatever I prefer and feel comfortable with, I get defensive. When people get defensive, they become unwilling to admit shortcoming in their preferred language/framework/OS/..., and so the debate devolves into "You're wrong! - No, you're wrong!" and namecalling.

I agree 100%. Also, a lot of good devs have poured their heart and soul into golang. They are a part of this community, like it or not. They find go news interesting, but I totally feel for them that every conversation feels like somebody kicking their sandcastle down because "theirs is better.". Same goes for nodejs. Same goes for PHP. Same goes for every language actually.

A person may have the best of intentions, but they need to realize that their words can have unintended consequences. There are places times and ways to properly discuss go's shortcomings, but there are also times when it is wildly inappropriate.

This is a good event for a very hardworking and capable part of oyr community. They deserve a little respect.