Does Mary Fisher Use Ethos Pathos Logos In A Whisper Of Aids Speech

Mary Fisher spoke at the Republican National Convention in Houston Texas in 1992 giving her A Whisper of AIDS speech to address the AIDS epidemic in front of the whole nation through national live broadcast. She tested positive for H.I.V in 1991, a disease that was condoned shameful and kept many in the dark. In order for her to raise awareness, she decided to come out of the dark and gave her motivational speech. Mary Fisher personifies AIDS to instigate fear into her audience through the use of logos including specific statistics, stating her moral and family values through ethos, and in pathos exudes a powerful response through personifying the disease to expose the danger of ignorance.

Fisher uses statistics to reinforce fear and the danger

She addresses her audience that “if you do not see this killer stalking your children, look again...Until we genuinely embrace this message, we are a nation at risk.” One of her technique is her giving AIDS the name of a “killer” and the threatening actions that “HIV marches resolutely towards AIDS in more than a million American homes...HIV inevitably turns to AIDS, then my children will inevitably turn to orphan.” One of easiest target and effective victim that can come into play is children, often linked to vulnerability. By saying that “one of the families is mine,” she is relating and putting herself out there for others to sympathize and be able to relate to. Through the structure of her speech, she makes it easy for her audience to follow. Not only is she addressing her political party, but to everyone else. Her intentions are far from stating political reasons, but it was for every American who is suffering from AIDS or is potentially exposed to the deadly disease. As she says “we have killed each other with our ignorance, prejudice and our silence,” it is time to speak out about AIDS. Keeping it in will only cause more harm as “we do the president no good if we praise the American family but ignore a virus that destroys it.” Her techniques of instilling fear into her audience was successful as they responded with tears and left them in silence with the take away that it’s time to start acknowledging the threat of