“A Whisper of AIDS”
Mary Fisher delivered her speech “A Whisper of AIDS” on August 19th, 1992 in Houston, Texas. Fisher is the mother of two young children and is an advocate and victim of AIDS and HIV. Fisher delivers this speech in hopes to end the prejudice that surrounds AIDS and HIV. Fisher gives this speech to disprove false stereotypes about victims of HIV and AIDS. Fisher contracted this disease from her second husband proving that AIDS and HIV does not necessarily stem simply from hemophilia, gay people, doing drugs, or from promiscuous activity. Fisher argues that no one is safe from AIDS and HIV and anyone can become victim to this deadly virus. Mary Fisher effectively gets her point across to her audience about the importance
In the very start of her speech she speaks for many when she states “I have come tonight to bring our silence to an end.” Fisher very cleverly uses “our” to be more inclusive not only of herself but all of the thousands who are affected by AIDS and HIV. The speech is intended to outreach the whole country so including all victims of AIDS and HIV behooved her overall impact. Fisher also uses this plural pronoun technique to reprimand those who “[We] have killed each other-with our ignorance, our prejudice, and our silence.” Fisher rebukes those who have discriminated against AIDS and HIV victims and points out that in general human beings tend to be the creator of their own demise. Ms. Fisher’s words were impactful yet the delivery of the speech was not very impression. Fisher spoke with passionate words however she remained monotonous. The speech would have been better if she had showed more emotion. Fisher’s speech evokes feelings of revelation and gives listeners a new and rejuvenated perspective on AIDS and HIV awareness. Fisher’s words and the way she utilizes Ethos to tug at her audiences heart strings and this catches the crowds attention. Fisher was persuasive enough to draw onlookers to her point of view because she used her own life experiences and gave the hard cold reality that
Even after the disease and its modes of transmission had been correctly identified, fear and ignorance remained widespread. In the mid 1980s, “AIDS hysteria” became a well known term in the media and public life. For example, a magazine published details about how extensive AIDS/HIV related discrimination became. “Anxiety over AIDS in some parts of the U.S. is verging on hysteria,” the authors wrote; they later published this disturbing example:
What I found astonishing is the fact that constantly had to reiterate the significance of the disease, and it makes me wonder what made the majority of individuals so oblivious to AIDS. Also, Gould pointed out the limited knowledge among individuals regarding AIDS and that was largely responsible for the “mysteriousness” of the disease. Gould continues to say that ignorance served just as big a role as the lack of knowledge for the disease. I feel that this true because the lack of knowledge and ignorance went hand and hand with each other as many individuals thought it could only happen to people with darker pigmentation, and different sexual orientation. In addition, with these ideals being forged into each person’s mind, it led to most individuals ignoring the issue completely, which in turn made each person less and less aware of the severity AIDS. This allowed the disease to contaminate much larger portions of the population because AIDS could spread in many ways, and the majority of individuals were not aware of it. Piggybacking this statement, I feel that AIDS was so deadly of a disease and that it increased so dramatically due to this ignorance and
Wow, I never expected to sit home on a Saturday night watching a documentary about AIDS, and needing a box of tissues. The film a Closer walk was definitely an eye opener!! As mentioned in the film, “AIDS is the grandfather of all diseases”, such a true statement after watching this film and realizing how it affects so many lives in so many ways ( ). AIDS in Africa is a nightmare. As Oliva Nantango, the girl that cared for her mother at age 12, because relatives were afraid of catching AIDS, stated “How do you tell your child you are dying”? I can’t imagine the heartache the children go through seeing their parents die at such a young age and leaving them orphaned. My heart was ached for many on that film, but for some reason, Oliva’s story really got to my heart. She was a very brave, strong young woman and I was so happy she was getting treatment, but it was too late, such a upsetting situation. But, I was happy she got to tell her story at the White House, and hopefully made a difference in someone’s life.
Sojourner finishes the initial emotional connection with her audience through her religion. By making biblical references, Sojourner’s mostly Christian audience related to her as a fellow Christian and responds more positively to her stance on equality. Through these personal anecdotes, Sojourner invites her audience, who are mostly women suffering from their own forms of discrimination, to realize the injustices of which they too are victims. Sojourner plays on the emotions of her audience in order to grab their attention and their willingness for change by sharing her own personal feelings to which they can relate. Sojourner continues her speech with rhythm and repetition, building up an energy in her voice and audience with a brief personal experience followed each time with that same rhetorical question.
There are rare cases, when society has to make the tough decision to overlook a person's basic rights for the good of the general public, Mary Mallon is one of these exceedingly rare cases. Mary Mallon was a carrier of Typhoid fever, because of this she was denied her way of life and her passion. Typhoid left an abysmal impression on Mary’s life, but she did not let let sickness define who she was. Mary left a lasting mark in her own subtle way, her life was more paramount than meets the eye, she opened the eyes of scientists all over the world and taught the world a near impossible lesson about never giving in.
Carl Zimmer the guest speaker of this broadcast states that in 1981 doctors described for the first time a new disease, a new syndrome which affected mostly homosexual men. The young men in Los Angeles were dying and the number of cases was growing faster and faster. The number of deaths was increasing from eighty to six hundred and twenty five in just the first few months. After the first few cases in LA, AIDS was declared to be one of the deadliest pandemics the world had ever seen after the plague in the Middle Ages.
In her aspiring speech, “A Whisper of AIDS”, AIDS activist Mary Fisher examines her proposal for how awareness is the key. Fisher’s purpose is to convey the idea that AIDS shouldn’t be treated like any normal disease, and to take in account how destructive AIDS can be. She adopts the use of rhetorical appeal, figurative language, and anaphora in order to appeal to her Republican leaders. Mary Fisher speech was a call to seek awareness, to urge the Republicans to no longer hold a stigma on the view of AIDS and to address the problem other than turning a blind eye to it.
Paul Monette in his autobiography, “Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir” wants to make the younger generation aware of all the mistakes, suffering and deaths his generation went through fighting with AIDS, as he is convinced that it might help the new generation survive. He wrote his life story in 1988, soon after he was diagnosed with HIV and two years after his partner and close friend Roger Horwitz died of AIDS.
(Allen et al., 2000) The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a clinical situation that requires the ethical principle Justice to be implemented. AIDS can be transmitted by sexual activity, intravenous (IV) drug use, and passed from mother to child. Due to the judgments and fears from the general population and some healthcare professionals, patients who have this disease may find themselves suffering from discrimination in many ways of their lives. This discrimination comes from the stigma placed by the factors in which AIDS is mainly spread. These factors are poverty, homelessness, illiteracy, prostitution, human-trafficking, which create the labels like the “drug user” or “homosexual”.
...ar. "Hiv/Aids Managing A Pandemic." Americas 61.2 (2009): 20-27. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
The goal of Hillary’s speech is to persuade her audience that her ideas are valid, by using ethos, pathos, and logos. Hillary is the First Lady and Senator, she shows credibility as an influential activist for woman rights. “Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children, and families. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my country and around the world” (Clinton 2).
She did not survive the Reagan Administration. I am here because my son and I may not survive four more years of leaders who say they care, but do nothing.” In this appeal Mrs. Glaser is appealing to her audience’s emotions, especially the emotions one feels when talking about their family like love and empathy. She mentions that her daughter has died because of this disease and that her son and herself are dying as well to show that this is a disease that can affect anyone and that it is crucial to work on cures or vaccinations to prevent others from suffering the way her family has. No mother or father wants to watch their children suffer and die because of a disease, so Mrs. Glaser uses her experience to appeal to those emotions.
"Demanding that life near AIDS is an inextricably other reality denies our ability to recreate a sustaining culture and social structures, even as we are daily required to devote such time to the details of the AIDS crisis." -Cindy Patton
In retrospect, Fisher’s speech, especially its ethos, would not been as effective if she wasn’t a married mother of two who became HIV-positive by her husband. Her call to the American people to have “the strength to act wisely when we are most afraid leaves no question to what must be done in breaking the silence regarding AIDS, and the action that must be taken to prevent further devastation (3). She successfully uses Aristotle’s Rhetorical appeals to transcend the public’s barriers against the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the people afflicted with the disease.
From the moment scientists identified HIV and AIDS, social responses of fear, denial, stigma and discrimination have accompanied the epidemic. Discrimination has spread rapidly, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the groups most affected, as well as those living with HIV or AIDS. It goes without saying that HIV and AIDS are as much about social phenomena as they are about biological and medical concerns. Across the world the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS has shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity and support, bringing out the best in people, their families and communities. But the disease is also associated with stigma, repression and discrimination, as individuals affected (or believed to be affected) by HIV have been rejected by their families, their loved ones and their communities. This rejection holds as true in the rich countries of the north as it does in the poorer countries of the south.