Why It Matters That So Many People Are Donating to Bail Funds
The popularity of these donations signals a quietly radical shift in many people’s attitudes toward American policing.
In the fall of 2017, a year that would ultimately see American police officers fatally shoot 986 people, Justin Bieber dominated headlines for days because of a single Black Lives Matter post on his Instagram. The following summer, Harry Styles earned for adding a Black Lives Matter sticker to the guitar he played at a show in Detroit. Bieber and Styles, two young white stars with massive fan bases, did what many public figures do when looking, earnestly or otherwise, to support a social movement. They resorted to symbolism.
