Is golang better than Java? Sure, fine, maybe. I'm not a Java expert so I don't have a dog in the race.
Should and could golang have been so much better than it is? Would golang have been better if Pike and co. had considered use-cases outside of Google, or looked outward for inspiration even just a little? Unambiguously yes, and none of the changes would have needed it to sacrifice its priorities of language simplicity, compilation speed, etc.
It is absolutely okay to feel that go is a better language than some of its predecessors while at the same time being utterly frustrated at the the very low-hanging, comparatively obvious, missed opportunities for it to have been drastically better.
Should and could golang have been so much better than it is? Would golang have been better if Pike and co. had considered use-cases outside of Google, or looked outward for inspiration even just a little? Unambiguously yes, and none of the changes would have needed it to sacrifice its priorities of language simplicity, compilation speed, etc.
It is absolutely okay to feel that go is a better language than some of its predecessors while at the same time being utterly frustrated at the the very low-hanging, comparatively obvious, missed opportunities for it to have been drastically better.