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Essay on the awareness of HIV and aids with reference
An essay on aids awareness
Mary fisher speech on aids essay
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In 1991, during divorce proceedings, Mary Fisher received devastating news. The man whom she once loved and fathered her children, had given her HIV. Instead of allowing the diagnosis to consume her and force her into depression and seclusion, she chose to use it as an opportunity. An opportunity to inform the public that individuals with HIV and AIDS were still people despite their diagnosis. And thus, they deserved the compassion that any human deserves regardless of race, creed, sex or sexual orientation. Standing in front of a conservative crowd and firmly standing in her truth may have been daunting but she accomplished her tasks and went on to become and advocate for families and those that contracted AIDS. During her speech, Mary …show more content…
During the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s, many people believed that HIV and Aids only affected select members of the population. This was far from the truth. Any one from any walk of life could have contracted the virus through various means. The epidemic of the 1990’s was so over looked that many people did not realized that AIDS was the third leading cause of deaths among young adults. During the time period, many conservatives may not have addressed the issue because they believed it solely affected gay men so they had nothing to worry about. By telling her story Mary Fisher made it clear that this was far from the truth and a rallying of people was needed to support those who suffered from HIV and Aids and their families. I believe that Ms. Fisher could have clearly stated her main points in the beginning of the story. Although I knew what her reasoning for the speech was, it was hard to find her main points that she wanted to address. Throughout her speech, Mary Fisher was well composed. She read fluently and clearly. She paused when applauded and the tone of her voice added to the conviction of her speech. Although it may have been nerve wracking for her to share her story and persuade others to change their views and take action, she remained poised
Mary Fisher's speech on HIV and Aids was executed extremely well in almost every way possible. Out of all the aspects of Mary's speech, I felt her establishment of common ground is what made her speech so great. Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth, and Hosek (2016) says “common ground occurs when you and your audience share an understanding of the world”(p.246). Mary did a great job of sharing her understanding and views of HIV and Aids, which is helping to establish common ground with the audience. Also, Mary disclosed things about her personal life that made her establishment of common ground even greater with the audience. All in all, Mary’s use of common ground did great things for her during this speech about HIV
On August 20th, 1992 Mary Fisher addressed the Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas in what is now one of the most famous speeches given in recent American history. Fisher, the daughter of a wealthy Republican, spoke on the importance being aware of the increasing danger of HIV/AIDS. Speaking from experience, Fisher is able talk about the danger of ignorance from the disease. She deploys metaphors and allusions pertaining to the Holocaust, as well as hypothetical experiences, to address a complacent, if not oppositional, Republican crowd. Fisher attempts to convince her political listeners of the very real danger that comes with ignoring HIV/AIDS. Fisher deploys a combination of the three appeals of logos, ethos and pathos to strengthen her speech as a persuasive argument. She expands upon her discussion by using metaphor throughout as an effective
...n our country. She’s saying that the advancement of women is getting stuck between a rock and a hard place. This was such a strong point in her speech because it shed light into the logical thinking, and made a historical connection to slavery. By making this connection, she was able to help many see that women were convicted slaves to the current state of the union.
Mary Fisher is an American author, artist, and political activist born in 1948. She opted to become an outspoken HIV/AIDS activist after contracting AIDS from her second husband. She is a daughter of the wealthy and powerful republican fundraiser Max Fisher. The speech entitled “A Whisper of AIDS”; she delivered it in Houston, TX on 19 August during the Republican National Convention Address. She delivered this speech and set up nearness and full focus of her audience. Mary Fisher uses appeals of pathos, information, and imagery to shape her ethic sound and response towards this rhetorical situation of HIV/AIDS.
HIV is a serious issue that is commonly pushed off and considered an irrelevant topic. In “AIDS, Inc.” by Helen Epstein, the topics of lifestyle brands and government funded organizations were discussed, and provided readers with an understanding of the depths of the disease. The excerpt discusses programs (i.e. loveLife) that had the potential and opportunity to save and inform many lives, but failed to do so, which continues to be a problem today. Our government is capable of helping and educating those who are infected, and anyone who could become infected. Instead of acting like having the disease is something to be ashamed of, governments should fund clinics that provide free HIV testing and free protection to all genders, create a structured
The documentary The Announcement was mostly about the era in which Magic Johnson lived and explained how HIV victims were perceived at the time (2012). America had a "plague" scare about AIDS in the 1980s when all this broke out which really a great deal to make people reflect on their "free-wheeling" sexual ways and social interactions and relationships. Today in 2014, people are still advised to talk openly with potential sexual partners and even get tested before having sex because AIDS is still very much alive and well in the world and in America. The documentary dived into social factors and also the stigma and ignorance that to this day persists whenever HIV issues arise. The documentary attempts to pull apart some of the fear and reality that Americans have about this disease of the immune system (2012). The stigma of AIDS patients and HIV positive people still exists but armed with knowledge America can all move ahead with a positive approach and not go alienating the very ones who Americans may know or love and who need them the most. In the early years of this disease people Americans were dieing because Americans knew so little about this disease, but now Americans know a great deal and people are living fairly normal lives because of certain treatments. A lot of credit should be given to Magic Johnson for this.
Mary Fisher added importance to the topic of AIDS by being HIV positive herself, and proving to the audience that anyone is capable of contracting it. Within her speech, she equally uses the three rhetorical appeals ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade her audience. Considering the audience was a republican party that was aiming to improve the nations next generations, the speech was effective in pursuing awareness. Mary Fisher brings those that have contracted HIV courage in believing that because they have contracted the disease, does not mean their life is a ticking time bomb. She hopes to this day that her speech, “Whisper of AIDS,” advises those around the world to bring awareness in order to end the spread of this horrifying
Her slow yet concise way of speaking, coupled with easy to follow transitions allowed for a speech that was enjoyable to listen to. Her use of examples from her personal life allowed her audience to get a picture of who she was if they did not know, and allowed her to better relate to them by provided examples of how she is related to the college they are graduating from. Her reference to many modern political problems allowed her to bring up her important role as an activist and facilitated further understanding from the audience. While some areas of her speech were weak, such as the longer than needed pauses and her lack of consistent eye contact, to a few points where she didn’t speak clearly enough, the overall picture that was her speech was fairly strong. Looking at this speech, I hope to incorporate some aspects that I failed to include in my previous speeches. Some of these include her use of hand gestures to emphasize and exaggerate certain phrases and topics, and her combined use of appeals. While my initial thoughts going in were “This is boring” and “This is too slow”, it evolved into me wanting to hear more, and overall my defeat in the beginning turned into a victory at the
In this piece Williams uses very effective persuasion. She starts off by telling you about how all the females in her family suffers from breast cancer. This brings a lot of emotion out of the audience that leads to added sympathy fro the author. I know I felt sorry for her. I was on her side from the start of the piece. Her tone was very sentimental. Then she goes on to state facts. Nothing wins an argument better than sound, strong fa...
AIDS/HIV was first recognized as a new disease in the US when clinicians in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco began to see young, homosexual men with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and Kaposi 's sarcoma (KS), unusual diseases for young adults which were not known to be immunosuppressed. These discoveries led to increased fear throughout the US since many people didn’t know what caused AIDS, how it could be contracted, or even what to call it.
This is not only within the movie, but in reality as well. People truly believed that you could only contract HIV/AIDS from being a homosexual man. Gay men were highly discriminated against. Once being diagnosed, even Ron refused to accept the fact that he tested positive for HIV. His immediate reaction was extreme offense, and he continuously said he was not gay. Once word got out of his diagnosis, Ron was out casted by his friends. They even vandalized his home, spray-painting the words “faggot blood” on it. This portrays the solidified connection people made with homosexuals and HIV/AIDS. Not only was the disease linked to homosexuals, but also it had an extremely negative stigma. AIDS was actually referred to as “the gay disease”, “gay cancer” or “the gay plague.” People were very much so blamed for their contraction of the disease as well. Especially since homosexuality was linked to the disease, antigay attitudes arose and people became more prejudice. In chapter 7, Macionis states that at the beginning of the 20th century, homosexuality was viewed as a social problem itself. And also stated, the AIDS epidemic is another unfortunate social
"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.
When HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) was first discovered as a disease in 1980, the affected individuals were stigmatized to the extreme. HIV/AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was first reported with homosexuals and IV drug users, which led the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to label the disease as Gay-related Immune Deficiency, as “gay” individuals were synonymous “drug users” due to their similar activities in the 1980’s (Stine 22). However, it soon became clear that female population were just as susceptible to contracting HIV as males.
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.