I'll back you up on this one, ghoti. At least with regard to Java being a very good OO learning environment. More than any other language I know, it really tries to nudge you into an OO way of thinking, which is the biggest hurdle you need to clear. I don't know Ruby, so won't try to comment on that. I've had loads of experience with C, C++, and Perl. Java certainly has the cleanest syntax and most elegant object model of any of those languages. The strong typing can be annoying, but is often a blessing in disguise as it will catch many programming errors at compile time. When my twelve-year old son asked me what language he should start with, I told him Java. Then he went out and bought a Python book.
I do agree that "proper" probably isn't a very good term to use. As in any endeavor, you need to select the right tool for the task at hand. Perl tends to be my language of choice for day-to-day, nuts and bolts tasks where you are trying to integrate disparate pieces of software, process lots of text, and get things done quickly. I like Java for big, structured systems and web applications.
I respectfully disagree with those who disparage Perl, Ruby, TCL, etc. as "scripting" languages simply because they are interpreted instead of compiled. They are all mature, robust programming environments in their own right.