To say that someone Visual Basic isn't a real programmer is a poor generalization to make. Visual Basic is, of course, what one would consider an "easy" language, compared to the evil C++ and whatnot, but that alone shouldn't discount it.
For example, one could be a poor C++ programmer, or one could be an extremely expierenced Visual Basic programmer - and just because one is programming a more "difficult" language doesn't mean he/she is neccisarialy better than the other.
Also, Visual Basic is still a powerful language, and has many pratical applications, and can still be quite complex. Then again, if you think about it, who cares if one is a "real programmer", other than as an ego boost?!