Speaking only for myself, I decided to learn Python/Django instead of Ruby/Rails. Part of this is because I work in journalism, where Python is more widely used than Rails, and part of it is that I didn't like the framework doing so much work for me.

I think one of the problems, possibly with the Op, is learning MVC and understanding basic concepts. Sytax is a big thing. You'll find many examples of why writing in ruby or python is sometimes preferable to other languages. Otherwise, if you understand core concepts and language, learning either one is preference. I like the Ruby ecosystem a little better, and moves really fast as problems come up, but this is my personal preference.

Am I missing something here? Why would this be worthy of a downvote?

Genuinely want to know so I don't make this 'mistake' again if it is in fact bad form.

The scope, rather than the language is what you need to focus on when starting to learn web development. Choose 2 frameworks, a "big" and a "small" one, then develop similar applications on both of them. This way you'll have chance to see the big picture and how the low level gears work.

For ruby you can go with Rails + Sinatra, for python you can try out Django + Flask for example.