I blogged about the incident where Donald Trump mocked Disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski back when it happened during the primaries, and frankly I roll my eyes a little bit every time someone brings it up as “his most shocking moment” or something equally hyperbolic. If it’s online I leave a link to my blog post and move on. But I’ve just seen on CNN clips of Meryl Streep’s reference to the incident in her otherwise lovely speech at last night’s Golden Globes about the incident, and it truly pissed me off. So here I am.

While I agree that Donald Trump mocking Serge Kovaleski, and his refusal up to this morning to apologize for it, is crude and tasteless, and that, as Meryl Streep said, Trump does have more “power and privilege” than Koveleski, I take absolute exception to the idea that Kovaleski has “no power to fight back.” He could have spoken out about the incident when it happened. I’m assuming that he chose not to, but I don’t even like to speculate about that, because I’m tired of people assuming that they must know how he feels about the incident.

People have certainly been clear about how they feel, though, and the resulting narrative is that this incident was the lowest point of Trump’s campaign. Not his statement that Mexicans are criminals and rapists. Not his campaign promise to deport 11 million people. Not his proposed Muslim ban, or the comments about sexual assault, or the promise to repeal Obamacare (which will affect many disabled people.)

No, apparently it was the mocking of Serge Kovaleski (again, in extremely poor taste, but are we surprised?) Because he’s a disabled man, and because we all know that disabled people are powerless and can’t fight back.

I do get that Meryl Streep’s overarching point was that when the President bullies people, other people take it as permission to bully people. But I’ve fought hard (and am still fighting hard, with other advocates) to get society to see that disabled people are *not* powerless.

I am *not* powerless.

I do not let people like Donald Trump take my power.

And I don’t need the outrage of people who see me as powerless. Thanks anyway, Meryl Streep.

And you know what else I’m tired of Meryl Streep? And CNN, for that matter? People not calling this gentleman by his name when they’re speaking about him. His name is Serge Kovaleski. He’s a Pulitizer Prize-winning journalist. Not “a disabled journalist” or “the disabled journalist”. Your outrage rings hollow when you can’t even be bothered to learn his name, especially when you’ve admitted that you’re reading a pre-written speech. Google is your friend.

Have a great day, everyone!