Jaci Fitzgerald

ENG 1101
11 October 2018

A Whisper of AIDS Rhetoric Essay

“If you believe you are safe, you are in danger. Because I was not hemophiliac, I

was not at risk. Because I was not gay, I was not at risk. Because I did not inject drugs,

I was not at risk.” Many people across the United States and all over the world fear the

word AIDS. Individuals think that it’s the drug-addicts and the seducers who obtain a

disease like this. They don’t think that it could be a mother or father who waited for

intimacy till marriage. This is the message that Mary Fisher sent out at the Republican

National Convention on August 19, 1992. She is an activist for AIDS and the founder of

a non profitable organization to fund HIV/AIDS research and education. Her speech has

be proclaimed “one of the best speeches of the 20th century”. A Whisper of AIDS has

caught the eye of many people who hadn’t thought twice about AIDS. This speech has

made an everlasting effect on the outlook for AIDS and showing America that everyone

is at risk for this disease.

In this speech, ethos is shown when Fisher states, “Less than three months ago

at platform hearings in Salt Lake City, I asked the Republican Party to lift the shroud of

silence which has been draped over the issue of HIV and AIDS.” This statement proves

that Mary Fisher is a reliable source when talking about HIV and AIDS. Also, she has

the disease of HIV that she got from her second husband. I think both of these things

give her credibility and make the audience trust that she is telling the truth throughout

her speech.

Throughout the speech, logos is shown when Fisher using facts to support her

tellings about HIV/AIDS. When Fisher states, “Two hundred thousand Americans are

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Jaci Fitzgerald
ENG 1101
11 October 2018

dead or dying. A million more are infected. Worldwide, forty million, sixty million, or a

hundred million infections will be counted in the coming few years.”, it shows that she

had done her research and knows enough about how the disease spreads to make a

prediction about it. Another way that Fisher used logos is when she states, “Tonight,

HIV marches resolutely towards AIDS in more than a million American homes.” Again,

this proves that she has done her research on HIV/AIDS, and she is well educated on

the subject. This makes her feel even more trustworthy by the audience.

“A Whisper of AIDS”, is a very emotional speech in general. I thought Fisher

showed a great amount of pathos throughout the speech. “Adolescents don’t give

eachother cancer or heart disease because they believe they are in love.” When Fisher

said this statement during her speech, it made me understand how much of an issue

HIV/AIDS really was. The emotion that was put into that one sentence made me sad to

realize that people with HIV and AIDS are not just drug-addicts and very sexually

aroused people, it’s sometimes people who think they are in love. I believe that Fisher

showed a lot of emotion throughout her speech and got the crowd thinking about how

they can change the way people look and talk about HIV/AIDS.

Another part of the speech that I feel like I should share is the quote, “I want

them to know that courage is the strength to act wisely when most we are afraid.” What

Fisher meant by this is that, courage is not be tough and it is not acting like you don’t

care about the issue. It is being able to make tough decisions when you are most afraid.

I thought I needed to share that in my essay, because it was another way that Fisher

showed pathos in her very emotion based speech.

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Jaci Fitzgerald
ENG 1101
11 October 2018

In my opinion, the speech created a new outlook about HIV/AIDS for the

audience. I think Fisher was respectful and caring when it came to the words that she

used. She gave the audience a different way to look at the disease. She brought

attention to the subject, and proved that HIV/AIDS is not just with gay, poor, or drug

addicted people. It is also the married and in love people who innocently got the

disease. Which I think was important for the world to know about the disease, so that

they can further their knowledge on the disease and help those in need. The world

needed to know that AIDS and HIV is not a disease to judge, but a disease that we all

should bring to our attention and become more educated about.

Citation-

Fisher, Mary. “A Whisper of AIDS.” Republican National Convention, Houston, TX,

Keynote Speech.