Microsoft is not the problem. Microsoft is the symptom.
When I hear the words "social responsibility," I want to reach for my gun.
Lisp is worth learning for the profound enlightenment experience you will have when you finally get it; that experience will make you a better programmer for the rest of your days, even if you never actually use Lisp itself a lot.
Prototype, then polish. Get it working before you optimize it
That stupid people are more violent is a fact independent of skin color.
Today I am one of the senior technical cadre that makes the Internet work, and a core Linux and open-source developer.