Re:No. (Score 1)

I disagree. Java was basically my first programming language and it certainly didn't "confuse" me and "turn me off programming forever". I thought it was a decent language to start with (and I've played in C, C++, Scheme, Haskell, Prolog, Ruby, Javascript, and maybe a couple others, so I have had some variety). I think the key is not necessarily the language but who's learning it (and to a certain extend who's teaching it). Any language can be a problem if the student simply isn't interested. Most languages are probably sufficient to learn the basics, and once that is done those basics can be applied and compared with new languages to truly learn how to write code.