Here is my opinion. I've got a bunch of small things.
#1: Keep it civil. I'm not going to name names, but some folks here need to go on vacation by the lake for a week or two--and yes, they should jump in the lake while they're there.
#2: I think a lot of the looking-down-on is due to the move away from VEX some years ago, and more particularly the way it was handled. Also, there could be some ill-feeling left from 2011's minibots, and their associated Tetrix motor issues.
#3: Each program has its own benefits, and its own drawbacks. FRC is "the big show"; you put an FRC robot out in a public place and it will draw a crowd. It costs appropriately, too--high costs on both the team side and the event side. As such, it is probably the best "hook"--for anybody that isn't in elementary school. That distinction goes to FLL, with its low costs, plentiful competitions, and restricted team size. As noted, FLL also has a pretty tough non-robot component with its research presentations and other social items. But... there's that age limit, and team size limit. FTC is middle-of-the-road: big enough to be bigger than FLL, small enough to open the venue selection for events a bit, but small enough that if you set an FTC robot out in a public place, the crowd won't be as big. For the participants, I would say it's FRC's equal--or more, if the team is small enough--but for the show, not so much. VRC has the same benefits and drawbacks as FTC, though with the addition of being able to run both ways on the age scale (the "lower age divisions", including VEXIQ, and the university division). Incidentally, the scale difference was shown at IRI 2012, when IFI sent out their interns' VEX robot built for Rebound Rumble along with the RoboWranglers' robot from that year for a quick demo.
tl;dr: They all have pros, and they all have cons. Do your analysis, and figure out which fits your situation and goals the best.
And #4, my final point:
"
Give me more tools; I’ll use the ones that are most useful for the job."--Natchez, FRC118, and well worth the read. (Do note: this one is from '02, before FTC or VRC, and even before the Edubot, which was the forerunner to the VEX Kit and FVC, which split into the above. Would you believe... that two full robotics competitions started because a third one wanted some small-scale, quick-build prototypes? Whodathunk?)