I don't know, I'm a backend programmer myself (although I dabble in front-end, and indeed, don't love it), but "the frontend programmers aren't really writing code in a real programming language" claim just sounds like an old greybeard writing in assembley complaining about how programmers that don't know and write in assembley are lazy and don't really know how to program. Iterate and repeat with every new development technology.

Don't get me wrong, the front-end certainly seems like a mess to me too. Although I think it's actually not quite as bad as it used to be, maybe over the hump one can hope.