Gish Gallop

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Whenever I get into an argument with my partner she gish gallops me. She interrups me to the point where I have to restart the same unfinished sentence over and over again.

She introduces new points to the conversation so rapidly that I don't have time to refute them before she introduces new ones.

I googled for how to stop a gish gallop and it said "To counter a Gish gallop, the best course of action is usually to call out the Gish gallop explicitly".

That technique might work in formal debate circles but the average person hasn't heard of the gish gallop and the sort of person who uses it won't listen long enough to hear it explained.

I'm not sure what to do. It's affecting my mental health.

.. leave . Or show her this Thread . And see response .

Call it out anyways, just be prepared to do more unpacking than you'd have to do in a formal debate setting.

I'm sorry she's a were-Ben Shapiro.

Sorry to nit-pick, but...

Do you mean a "ware-ben shapiro"?

"Ware" as in "warewolf"?

My sister does that. And I discovered that my girlfriends sister also does that.

Dont know how to deal with it.


I suppose most folks interrupt if they get wound up in a...vigorous disagreement.

I did. She didn't listen. There's not going to be any time for unpacking when I can't get a word in edgewise.

I would suggest refusing to engage in spoken debate/discussion with her when she goes into Gish gallop mode, and, instead, tell her you'll respond only if she puts it in an email. If she persists in verbal Gish galloping, lie down and play dead until she stops.

That's what she wants. That's why she does it in the first place. To silence me.

Were- as in werewolf.
You've misspelled it, it's spelled were- and it's derived from an Old English word for man (related to virile).

That can be hard, I usually just outlast those folks but I don't imagine that strategy works for everyone.

Outlast. She has infinite reserves of patience. But not the good kind of patience.

Put on a solemn face, and in a stern tone say, "honey, what you need to understand is..." then immediately blow raspberries and run out of the house. Do this every time she tries to gish gallop you.

If she's going to act like a child, you've just got to act like a more annoying child. Eventually she'll realize it's less hassle to just let you get your points across.

My current girlfriend is kinda like that sometimes. She does not do it to be mean or get her way thou. She has a major problem with depression, anxiety, & stress & is probably on the boarder of having Borderline Personality Disorder. She expects me to help but she has times when she's so caught up with her emotions that she gets upset by every single thing I say or do. I can NOT help her when she'll cut me off & reject everything. I used to get mad & yell at her & then we'd both end up feeling like complete cr@p after. Thanx to my meds & learning/growing/maturing, I learned to bite my tongue so to speak most of the time & instead of me yelling at her, I'll quietly & quickly leave the room & go do my own thing for a while. I usually either get on my desktop or I'll go to bed. I also don't initiate conversation with her when she comes into the bedroom or when I leave the bedroom. She ends up apologizing because she feels very bad about her behavior after she's calmed down.

What would happen if you were to make it clear that you are not listening? Perhaps put your hands over your ears and just say "Stop Gish galloping!" over and over again?

Also, what would happen if you were to put your thoughts in email and simply refuse to acknowledge anything she says in response except via email?

If I was at the end of my tether I would quote Brandolini's law and wait for a slap

Keep in mind that a discussion in a relationship is not a debate. There is no audience; you're only trying to get through to the other person.

If she's being totally unreceptive and not listening to you, then just avoid arguing with her. Wait until she feels better and then bring up the discussion with her.

If that works, great. But if she's constantly unreceptive regardless of when you talk to her, then it may be time to move on.