It’s actually pretty simple ultimately.

Perl is extremely expressive, meaning TIMTOWTDI but really beyond what most languages afford.

Perl, at its most basic usage, is extremely easy. I wrote my first production script at Amazon.com after two weeks head down in the Llama. Perl is, at its deepest, quite wide and a bit magical.

Perl’s system level facilities got it a place in all *nix systems quickly so it was de facto popular.

Most persons be they developers, politicians, teachers, drivers, doctors, or whatever are not very good at what they do. It’s a USA-ism but a C is a passing or average grade. A C equates to 70% correct or as the half-empty would say, 30% wrong.

So you get the intersection of a widely available language in bloom at the jump of the interwebs that is simple to wield but difficult to master catering to the most dissonant problem solving a less competent even than average user base can generate. On top of that: haters gonna hate. Having beams in your eyes makes you a mote-seeking cranky pants.

For my part, nothing but love for Perl. I think it’s a great language for a serious beginner; discipline is most of what makes Perl not PHP in a code base.