Is your main gripe that the esc key is no longer a physical key? Or that learning a new placement of the esc key is difficult to adjust to?

But to your point, there are many ways I could workaround this change (changing key mappings, for example). But my point is; I don't have to. There are plenty of companies willing to sell me a computer with the same keyboard layout that's been standard for the last 30 years. I'll just buy one of those.

I see this no different than any other product I use on a daily basis; I would be resistant to change if it aversely affected my use. Luckily, I don't need to change my habits to conform to Apple's latest bravery. Apple needs to know this; they don't own their customers.