I think your point is valid and I don't dispute it, but if I had a nickel for every time I said "just do it all in perl" and regretted it, I'd be... well, perhaps not a rich man, but I'd have lunch covered for a few weeks.
I have heard snarky Perl putdowns ad nauseam at work and on HN and may have regretted using it a handful of times but I can say worse or similar for other popular tools, languages...