You've never had to do any programming as a job, have you?
In the real world, code had to be edited under uncertain circumstances quite often, and usually when doing so time is an issue. Having code fail to work because the editor at the end of three ssh hops isn't set up for whatever magic invisible formatting the fucking retarded language insists on is not acceptable.
Why is this such a sticking point?
Braces cost nothing, do they? They make the parser easier to write. And there's no issues with printed code that has used a proportional font.
So, why not just fix it? Why is it such a problem for the language team to just make the text clearer?
Could it just be ego?