Rhetorical Analysis Of Mary Fisher's Speech

“This is not a distant threat. It is a present danger,” said political activist, Mary Fisher in her speech, on HIV/AIDS. The speech was presented at the 1992 Republican National Convention Address, in Houston, TX, and suggests for people to speak up and support those affected by HIV. Diagnosis of HIV were at all time high during this time, 1992-1993(HIV and AIDS). Much of the public was not aware of many of the aspects of HIV therefore, awareness needed to be brought on the topic. Fisher develops her plea by first providing compelling data, then building her credibility, and finally using an emotional appeal. Her purpose is to shed light on the issue of HIV to inspire people to speak up. She creates an informative and sympathetic tone for those ignorant to the struggles of the HIV community.

Mary Fisher uses compelling data to emphasize the major impact that HIV/AIDS is creating.

Fisher said, “40 million, 60 million, or 100 million will be infected in the coming years,” to hint how quickly this disease can and will spread. The use of data in her speech creates an urgency for the audience to do something to stop the spread of AIDS. Fisher exposes the fact that “AIDS is the third leading killer of young adults … but won’t be third for long.” In doing so, she brings to attention how common HIV/AIDS is and how it could increase. The data in the speech creates an eye-opening response in the audience, since they may not be aware of the effect caused by a disease, that does not directly affect them. Having data to refer to, creates a since of trust that Fisher is informed on the epidemic of HIV.
Fisher shares her own experience to build credibility, so people can trust that she knows what she is talking about. In the start of the speech she said, “I would never have asked to be HIV positive,” this reassures those unaware of how she is connected to the problem. By starting off with this, the audience can know that she speaks from her own personal experience. She explains how her family have changed in the way they support her; “My 84-year-old father…will not accept the premise that he cannot heal his daughter…Sisters and friends, and my brother Phillip, all have helped carry me over the hardest places.” Her family has been her biggest support system and this shows how it is hard to go through something so big, alone. Again, being able to share her own experiences a bond of trustworthiness with her audience and herself. The reality that she mentions, “If it is true that HIV inevitably turns to AIDS, then my children will inevitably turn to orphans,” can explain how difficult this would be for her family. Fisher build her credibility by highlighting the most difficult times during her experience with HIV, which can also be interpreted as an emotional appeal.
The main device that Fisher uses is an emotional appeal to evoke sympathy in her audience.

Mary Fisher sheds light on the different situations people are in due to HIV- “I am one with a black infant struggling with tubes in a Philadelphia hospital.” In doing so, she creates an atmosphere where you feel sorry for the innocent baby that has no clue what he/she is going through with HIV. Fisher said, “It does not care whether you are Democrat or Republican...black or white, male or female, gay or straight, young or old,” and acknowledges the fact that HIV can affect anyone. Many people, especially the young adults, had a mindset that they would not be affected by HIV. With this quote, she gets the audience thinking that they are not safe by any means and the only way to prevent becoming infected is to inform themselves. Another form of emotional appeal, used by Fisher, is by questioning the morals of her audience. She said, “we must act as eloquently as we speak -- else we have no integrity.” She wants people to not just say things to sound supportive but instead to act based on their

words.
Mary Fisher speaks out about HIV so that other’s will do the same and support the fraction of the population that has been affected. She achieves her purpose by including captivating data in her speech along with building her credibility, and creating an emotional appeal. This speech brought awareness to a disease that was being silenced but, affecting millions. She brings up the fact that HIV can affect anyone and without an educated public, the number of people diagnosed will increase rapidly. Each person is in their own situation and going through their own personal struggles but, if they don’t help each other out then they are just weighing everyone down. Fisher inspires people to unite by taking a stand for each other to support each other and the different situations that everyone is in and becoming each other’s support system.