Basically all text editors now do syntax highlighting, I have not heard any one say they avoid syntax high-lighting. I personally avoid the usual auto complete interface style and stick with the emacs default of explicitly requesting the editor to completion at point, not because it can't do it or that I am being macho but because I find it distracting and find it obscures code I often want to look at.

I hate with passion GUI's that stop be copying text and other crack that modern IDE's often do.

I don't avoid modern features at all and actively use pretty much all of them. If something like and IDE works for you that's great. But their is not some deep psychological need I am fulfilling, other then using tools that have less friction for me.

Additionally the post is about haskell a very high level language with the type system being the main feature, this persons choice in emacs is clearly different to the type that shun type systems and GC. Additionally I do not actually think the types that shun GC and shun type systems intersect as much as you make out, the types that shun GC are performance obsessed kinds of people in which type systems can improve performance significantly and those that shun type systems are (a dying breed) tend to be those who like scripting languages and hacking something together quickly. Most people recognize that both have their place I think.

Maybe the example of a carpenter who has a set of trusted tools and might like or a chefs set of knives, if we really need to look at other professions and measure are self against them. I think if you ask people why they use text editors (or IDE's) they will give their own valid reasons for each.