I still prefer C to C++ for "environmental" reasons. C has proven to me to be safer in the long run than C++ because C is more respected by compilers (standard-wise). Some of the really neat stuff C++ can do a lot better than C is not properly XOR consistantly supported by compilers under different platforms, and remarkably not by some of the most popular ones (Visual C, Borland, Watcom, CodeWarrior, GNU). I have lost zillions of programming hours fixing those issues alone, and struggling to port other's code.
My advice is using ANSI C for stuff you think you're going to reuse or you need to be very portable, and C++ for rapid development under a given platform. As for learning, you are most probably going to need to learn both, but always keep in mind what is C, what is C++, and what C++ is not portable.
I don't recommend learning scripting first... because it is so much darned easier, most people I know who started by scripting, stayed there. They would be too pissed with the tedious period of getting used to strong typing. At least don't get too used to it