How many people worked on that code for how long to get it down to that level of error rate? Nobody is saying that C/C++ programs cannot be safe, only that it's more expensive and challenging to do so. Given the regular cadence of the largest tech companies in the world[1] shipping updates for memory safety issues I think there's a enough evidence supporting that position that it can't be dismissed as “atavistic”.

1. https://twitter.com/lazyfishbarrel