It started with an apology on Twitter. And not just an apology: A full-on acknowledgment of improper and counter-revolutionary thoughts, of the kind that Chairman Mao Zedong’s Red Guards used to extract from their victims.

It came from Paperchase, a popular British stationery retailer. You’ll find one on pretty much any UK high street, selling pens and birthday cards and paperclips. Anyway, here is what it said.