It's also indicative of one aspect the problem, where we largely don't care until we have a personal stake in things.

For another example:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21804506

> Influential US Republican Senator Rob Portman has renounced his opposition to gay marriage. The Ohio senator said he began to change his mind in 2011 after his son, Will, revealed he was gay.

It's great that people change. It's not great that it frequently takes a direct familial relationship to cause it.