I don't know anything about Fossil, but saying that no one understands Git just makes me think they're ignorant to learning Git. I doubt that's the case, but still, why say that?
Any system that has consistent-ish rules can be learned. The more rules, and the subtler they are, the harder it is to learn. Git's problem is that it is necessary to know how it really works, to avoid getting into a bad state. It's complicated enough that it is easier than it should be to get into a bad state. The extent of the rules you have to know to avoid trouble does not match the simplicity of the day to day operations you do on the repo.
Are you going to tell me you've never lost work because you didn't know git well enough to avoid putting your branch into a bad state?
I just wrote the referenced article last night. Normally, I takes months or years before something like this gets picked up and discussed on HN, and I have more time to refine the text. This one snuck up on me. Come back in a month or two and the article will probably be much improved. You are reading an initial draft.
On the other hand - it is a funny cartoon, don't you think? And it does kind of capture how most people use Git in a snarky kind of way, doesn't it? :-)
It's the only thing I've tried since SVN days, but I can totally see the room for alternatives...