Social Justice

The Devil is Beating His Wife

“Political Correctness,” and how language gives permission to the worst in us

It’s a sunny afternoon in Portland. Beautiful weather.

And yet, it’s raining.

The Devil is beating his wife.

“Wait, what?” — you might say in amazement. Oh, you know, I casually reply. Sunshowers. Rain on a sunny day.

I shit you not.

That is the expression, and what’s more — the expression is still in use in many parts of the United States.

So many questions.

The main one being, “who in Hell (pun intended) would marry the Devil?”

It’s fascinating how the sentence just takes this tidbit for granted. All male figures have wives. So a supposedly-male evil demigod perforce must have a significant other as well?

The Devil — or Lucifer, if we’re going to go by name and not by title — was one of the brightest and most powerful angels. Lucifer led a revolt against God, was vanquished, and has been spending every single moment of eternity single-mindedly plotting the destruction of the human race.