andyfingerhut
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/community/jvm...
plus a bunch more Rich Hickey talk transcripts in the same repository, with links to videos if you prefer, in that same Github repo.
Clojure on the JVM starts up in about a second with only the core Clojure code included. It can definitely take in the tens of seconds to read/compile-to-JVM-byte-code step for larger code bases that are not precompiled from source, but for long-running server processes, many people consider that a blip compared to VM startup times.
Of course that _is_ an issue for quick-running command line tools, and most people therefore don't use Clojure on the JVM for those purposes. Many _do_ use ClojureScript running on a JavaScript engine like node for such things, because its startup time is lower.
The far more important and long-reaching gestures would be: expressions of thanks, and standing up for creators whenever unwarranted demands are made upon them.
I think you are misrepresenting what Rich wrote. He said you are not "entitled" to a response. That is not an evaluation of someone's worth, but a statement about what they are owed, or not owed.