The same corporations that use the Linux kernel, various database engines and various language runtimes, all of which contain C or C++, many platform specific byte manipulations and various other unsafe features?

Have you used Linux lately? It's always close to falling apart, in my experience. That the developers are doing a heroic job of keeping all the unsafe parts under control does not mean this is a good idea for the rest of us.

I use it daily, both personally, for development and in production. Performs better than commercial nix and Windows IMHO; cannot comment on BSDs or Mac.