The funny part of this story is in the comments section. A bizarre number of strangers seem to be "cut up" or "I'm crying" over an inanimate object that isn't even theirs!
Would you not understand peoples' sadness if a collection of great paintings were destroyed in a museum fire? The sickest part of it was that it was destroyed intentionally by humans for no good reason at all.
Sure, this was not the most valuable piece in the world but there are definitely a finite number of them remaining. My guess is a lot of them are moving to collectors in Asia never to be seen again in the West. Who would have thought that would be the safest place for them?
Oooh this makes me sick.
(I think $20bn/year is way too low and the world would be a better place if we were more compassionate towards starving people and others in distress. But that's no reason at all not to care about old violins being destroyed.)
Their violin. Not some random stranger's on the Internet.
People are losing their lives and homes every day. An emotionally healthy and sane person's psychology allows one to not cry or get "cut up" about every such incident, while allowing one to feel empathy for the afflicted.
A strong attachment to one's own material possessions is unhealthy enough without taking on the emotional ownership of a third party's.