So some, like Lycophron, were led to omit 'is', others to change the mode of expression and say 'the man has been whitened' instead of 'is white', and 'walks' instead of 'is walking', for fear that if they added the word 'is' they should be making the one to be many. -Aristotle, Physics 1.2

ETA: I don't mean this as either criticism or support, I just thought it might be interesting to point out that the frustration with 'is' has a long history.