Mary Fisher, an American political activist, addresses a worldwide illness at the 1992 Republican National Convention Address in Houston, Texas. At the time, AIDS was a new epidemic; responsible for affecting millions of people and being the death cause of much more. As a result, stereotypes about AIDS had risen, bringing nothing but fear to society. Fisher notices America’s great lack of knowledge towards this disease and the difficulties that come along when it is time to talk about it. She feels a need to defend those who have it and open the public’s eyes, especially after learning that she had contracted the disease from her second husband in 1991. Her purpose is to overpower AIDS by spreading knowledge. Throughout the speech, Fisher engages the audience with various rhetorical techniques. With the use of her own ethos, she explains how awareness can bring them a step closer to winning the battle against HIV/AIDS.
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To show her credibility, she says, “ I want your attention, not your applause”. By saying this, she sets a serious tone that allows the audience to understand how important this is to her and those being haunted by HIV/AIDS. When the speaker is demanding and makes clear that their intention is to spread awareness and not to harm others, the audience is more willing to listen. Fisher immediately caught her audience’s attention, making her speech very
To show her credibility, she says, “ I want your attention, not your applause”. By saying this, she sets a serious tone that allows the audience to understand how important this is to her and those being haunted by HIV/AIDS. When the speaker is demanding and makes clear that their intention is to spread awareness and not to harm others, the audience is more willing to listen. Fisher immediately caught her audience’s attention, making her speech very