Nothing Happens in a Vaccuum

As I was reading this article on Medium (Link here) I stumbled on the phrase "nothing happens in a vacuum." It took me a few minutes and some internet searching to clarify and digest it mentally. 

A defining set of words I found during my research helped clarify what it means.

"everything is in relation to it's context. Everyone lives in a different culture, society, family, etc. that alters and shapes the way they see the world. This is why people are fascinated by the few "feral children" (i.e. children dropped off in the woods or whatnot, without living with other humans.) These children have lived without being conditioned by society, so scientists are very interested in them because they really have almost been brought up "in a vacuum." Don't forget: a vacuum is NOT referring to a vacuum cleaner; it is referring to a vacuum of space. Nothing is there to alter the original thing."

Why am I interested with this phrase? Because it's relevant to the issues at hand.

Michael Brown.

John Crawford III.

Trayvon Martin.

Policies need to change. People need to change. We need to change.