Artwork: “What If” by Dave Holley

The last time I was in Philadelphia I witnessed a man kick a violin out of a young female busker's hands as she was sat playing it on a street corner and he was walking past.

It was so bizarre. It was one of those moments when you think out loud, what just happened? And then you stand there across the street, looking around incredulously to see if anyone else had seen a violin fly through the air and land with a crash some feet away from a sobbing, wailing girl.

A bunch of people had seen it that quiet Sunday afternoon in Center City, and while most of us simply stood there in shock, a bike messenger went after the aggressor, who had brazenly walked on down the street, head held high. Bike messenger guy confronted him, and then grabbed the guy's briefcase and flung it to the ground in a fit of rage.

Philadelphia confuses me that way.

For the record, all three parties involved were caucasian.