> people who use go are using it in situations where [...] Python would have been appropriate

I'm not so sure about that. Python is a DSL for connecting C functions together. Whereas the biggest criticism of Go (gc, at least, but fair to say it has become synonymous with Go) is around its poor C-interop.

In fact, because of that limitation, Go has developed a bit of a "rewrite those C functions in Go" attitude. While that doesn't indicate that Go is a better C (that's subjective anyway), it does indicate that they are found on the same playground. You're probably not going to rewrite Linux in Go, which might be what you are grasping at, but that's not where C ends. Not even close.

You may have a point about Java. Griesemer was a founding member, after all.