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Abstract
On March 3, 1985, the Kokomo Tribune informed the town of Kokomo, Indiana, that Ryan White, a local thirteen-year-old boy afflicted with hemophilia, had contracted Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome--AIDS. This study focuses on how the citizens of the Kokomo area reacted to the news of Ryan's illness and to his subsequent fight to go to school. Two questions are explored. How did the townspeople name and give meaning to the problem, its causes, and the people involved in the dispute? How did this naming affect the people's ability to communicate with one another? Bormann's fantasy theme analysis, and focus group interviewing techniques are used to explore and attempt to answer these questions.
Five focus groups were formed and interviewed. Two of the groups supported Ryan's attendance in school, two opposed his presence in the classroom, and one group acted as a control. The study examines how the groups moved toward symbolic convergence to create three distinct visions of the drama. These varying visions contain similarities, however, which provide areas for possible agreement and communication between the factions. These similarities are expressed through the use of an "insider/outsider" theme by all of the groups. The study concludes by exploring the rhetorical possibilities in the three visions.
