Pianos have always been cherished objects in a household; they are machines with the ability to revive Bach and Beethoven, create infinite jazz improvisations, or simply sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” And the best part about the piano’s (and any other instruments’) vast and timeless powers—it allows the music to come from us. Pianos provide us with a special gift of ability—to express ourselves in musical notes, through merging ourselves with the works of masters or through our own creative inspiration. Perhaps this is why I watched the video in this New York Times article of unwanted pianos suffering violent shoving and smashing with my mouth agape and in horror. But as Daniel J. Wakin explains, I am not the only one with a strong reaction to the destruction of pianos. People who have seen videos of piano-dumping called it “barbaric, painful, outrageous, even criminal,” as if it were puppies being chucked from the back of a truck and subsequently crushed. But they’re not puppies; they’re pianos—inanimate objects that feel nothing when their wood splits. And yet they are immensely emotionally-charged. Whether it is the piano’s sentient vocal capacity (including the agonizing groan it makes upon impact) or the sentiment we attach to it because of what it provides for us, my heart goes out to those unwanted pianos. Watch the video and read about it here and gives us your thoughts on the strong reactions these pianos (or really any symbol of art/creation/history) can illicit.