When Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson took to the podium at Tuesday night's gala event [the Africa Day celebration in Washington DC], he probably didn't expect any hecklers.
But the unruly Ambassador from Zimbabwe, H.E. Machivenyika Mapuranga, kept getting in Carson's face and just wouldn't sit down and shut up.
Mapuranga was eventually removed from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which prompted this observation by an anonymous attendee:
That diplomat remarked that in Africa, ambassadors are such bigwigs that they would never be booted out of a public event for shouting something. But in the United States, even ambassadors can be escorted out of the room by regular event staff.
"In Africa, an ambassador is treated like a king. Here he can be humiliated just like anyone else."
That's right, we are equal opportunity humiliators over here. It's in the Constitution. And don't you forget it!
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