I also don't understand that critic. I have never ever had a problem with it and it is a big part of what makes Python so readable. I don't think there is any other language that comes close to Python in terms of readability.
What is the issue people have with it? They write code that writes code? That is the only issue I can come up with.
And self, yes it might seem a bit unaesthetic at first but it is not such a big deal.
For me, Python = productivity