"C lacking a garbage collector" is not the same thing as "having to understand how a computer works to code in C", lack of GC is a minor point when we're talking about a beginner learning programming fundamentals. They're not jumping into maintaining a mega project that can crumble under a stiff breeze (or if you forget a free() call ), they're learning basics.

My point is that as a language, C is actually pretty simple. Pleasingly so