I couldn't find one so I asked the clerk.

Promptly he guided me to where the Business Card files were displayed.

"All we have are these" he said, "They're pretty gay."

For one moment I lost all train of thought--completely stunned and suddenly very aware of my position--and stood there pointlessly.

The clerk was Asian, mind you, and I could have easily made a brilliant point and asked, "Where are those Business Card files made at?"

Obviously, he would have said "China".

I could have said, "Gosh, that's pretty chinky" and then put the pain and stupidity he made me feel back on him.

But alas, I did nothing. Instead, I allowed what he said to burn me alive in a million smithereens and "turn the other cheek".

As Margaret Cho said, "Being a minority in this country is like dying from a thousand paper cuts. I'm gonna let it out or it will burn me alive. I do want to sink down to their level. I do not want to rise above it."

When it comes down to it, there is no difference in saying something is "gay" and saying something is "chinky". They're equally offensive.