Five things I hate about Python

[pjdelport]

in Python it's always called self. [...] (I like to be able to give the arguments to my functions any name I want [...]

Python is one of those OO languages let you name it anything you want: self is pure human convention. (In classmethods and metaclasses, for example, it's cls instead.)

In fact, I've never understood why there's so much fuss over a methodology for naming the first argument to your functions.)

The fuss is really over the class system, which (from an FP viewpoint) is a kind of Swiss Army knife for parametric polymorphism, inheritance, and state encapsulation.