There is some truly execrable Python code out there, but it’s there because the barrier to entry is so low. Especially back in the day, Java had so many guardrails that the really bad Java code came from intermediate programmers pushing up against the limitations of the language rather than from novices pasting garbage into a notebook. As a result there was less of it, but I’m not convinced that’s a good thing.

Edit: my point being that out of a large pool of novices, some of them will get better. Java was always more gate kept.

Second edit: Java’s intermediate programmer malaise was of course fueled by the Gang of Four’s promise to lead them out of confusion and into the blessed realm of reusable software.