I argue that Silicon Valley startup culture's existence and profitability disproves the point you're attempting to make here. Haven't we all read pg's "Beating the Averages"? Haven't we all heard a hundred startup founders say "I used the tool that was closest to hand, and customers didn't care what I used as long as my service met their needs"? Haven't we all seen the companies with printing presses handily beating the calligraphers both in the Iron Age assembler-versus-C contest and the modern contest of web startups with FOSS stacks beating companies burdened with compiled languages and expensive licenses?

Peer pressure is certainly not zero - but hackers are pragmatists. If the tool really was easier and made a coder more productive, they'd be making money with it and that would be its reputation right there. The thing you call "cheating" is celebrated and encouraged. Better tools improve the whole community.

>>> "I had to stop using Visual Basic anything just because I knew people would judge me as being a lesser programmer if I took advantage of the easier and more productive tool."

This says far, far more about you than about the people around you.