This I think is where a lot of the pushback comes from. People say want a new C replacement, but some portion of them look at what that actually means, and find they actually want C with a new feature or two because actually learning something new, even new looking, is work. Rust is not C or C++ with a few new features, it's a new language, and some people really want that, and some people are put off by how different it is.

It's perfectly fine for people to have a preference, but people should be aware of what it is - a preference. It's not some inviolate law that C's syntax and way of doing things is good, and we should make sure a successor follows that. It's importance to distinguish the familiar from the good. C has a huge advantage in that it's familiar, through it's own popularity and history and in those languages that it influenced. That doesn't mean it's inherently better though.