Editorial August 31, 1998 Issue

Violence ... "Let It End Here"

Mary Metzner Trammell

In Springfield, Oregon, it was a living prayer ... "Let It End Here." The words draped large and blue (Springfield's color) on a banner behind city leaders, as they met with townspeople the evening of May 22. Just one day earlier, a fifteen-year-old boy's shooting rampage had left four dead and thirty-two teenagers wounded.

"Let It End Here." Those are words of hope and healing. They envision an end to violence—not just in Springfield, but everywhere. Sadie Wilson, student body president of the high school where the shooting took place, said it another way: "May everybody heal and society learn from this tragic event that never should have been."

Healing began quickly in Springfield. Fire Captain Paul Esselstyn and other Springfield firefighters asked residents to wear sky blue ribbons to symbolize "the blue sky promise of a brighter tomorrow." And to remind each other to pray. He also helped launch an international firefighters' "mission" to quell violence among young people.Brian MacQuarrie, "A town forever changed tries to learn from the terror," The Boston Globe, May 24, 1998, p. A17; Dennis Murphy, Springfield Fire Chief, press release on "Introduction of Sky Blue 'Ribbon of promise,' " May 25, 1998.

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