In Pennsylvania, a Bully Keeps Picking on His Hapless Victim: Why the “Bill and Mark Show” Is Getting Old
Monday, September 15, 2008 at 10:43AM
I suspect a lot of people aren’t going to like what I have to say about the latest version of the “Bill and Mark Show.” Bill Chirdon is the head of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Safety, and one of his main roles in life seems to be to torment Mark Nolt, a Mennonite dairy farmer who sells raw dairy products directly to eager customers, and refuses to register with the PDA and obtain a raw milk permit that would prevent him from selling the yogurt, butter, and cream his customers so value.
As predicted here last month, Bill and his gang of agents and state police raided Mark’s dairy for the third time in the last 14 months, this time taking possibly $20,000 worth of dairy products.
Each time Bill and Mark go through this little ritual—and it has become something of a ritual—lots of people who think consumers should have the right to buy whatever kind of dairy they want get all upset. Big bad Bill Chirdon, they say, is picking on poor defenseless Mark Nolt.
And so he is. Psychologists have a name for what’s happening here. It’s called sado-masochism.
I’ve written about Big Bad Bill and Poor Defenseless Mark a number of times (just do a search under "Nolt"), but frankly, this ritual is getting very tired.
Bill is pretty easy to understand. He’s a bully. We all know that bullies love to pick on people weaker than them. They hate to pick on people who might stand up against them.
I’ve only spoken with Bill Chirdon once, and that was in early 2007, shortly after he arrived at the PDA. “We have a way of selling raw milk in Pennsylvania,” he told me then. “We like to work with the farmers.”
In the view of people like Chirdon, the victim is at fault, as in, “If he had just moved over when I told him to, I wouldn’t have had to beat him up.”
I’d like to see Bill Chirdon go up against Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures. Now that would be interesting.
But Big Bad Bill would never do that. Because he might lose. And be humiliated. Smart bullies never let that happen.
But people who let themselves continually get beaten up by bullies at some point have to ask themselves why they are regularly submitting to the torment. Mark Nolt says his religious beliefs preclude him hiring a lawyer and mounting an aggressive legal defense. So he defends himself in court, and I can tell you from having watched him in action that he’s a much better dairy farmer than he is a defense lawyer.
Maybe he’s engaged in civil disobedience but, if so, I don’t see many people coming to his rescue. Lots of people express outrage in Internet postings and give him money. But none of them are blocking the roads when the PDA and state police caravans come to raid Mark’s farm. None are defying the state police ban on taking videos of the raids—a clear violation of free speech. None of them openly challenge the PDA to come raid their farms, in true civil disobedience fashion.
I know a number of legal people who would like to help Mark are frustrated because he objects to having legal representation on religious grounds. If there’s a larger religious issue here, then fight back legally on that basis; the courts have been receptive to arguments based on religious infringements.
I hate to sound harsh, but my reaction at this point is this: If you can’t or won’t fight back in some realistic way, then maybe you ought to think about going into a different line of work. Raise beef or chickens instead of milking cows and selling raw milk and yogurt.
Bill Chirdon will keep doing what he’s doing till the cows come home. He’s having fun. Instead of kicking the dog after a tough day, he can kick Mark Nolt. He can tell his colleagues he’s setting an example, that the dozens of other dairy farmers who are selling dairy products without a license will fall into line more easily. He can tell his family he’s protecting the citizens of Pennsylvania from poison milk, even though no one gets sick from Mark Nolt’s products.
He can laugh at all his opponents, as in, “I’m having more fun than I’ve had in a long time.” And he can privately thank his lucky stars that no one is willing to stand up and give him a real run for his money.
Reader Comments (25)
David, this is sad. Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe is right. Some of my ancesters, who were Quakers, were shunned by thier church for various reasons. One was the Revolution. History will repeat itself.
You are probably correct when you suggest that Bill Chirdon “will keep doing what he’s doing till the cows come home”. Which reinforces what Dr. William Campbell Douglas stated with respect to the Mathis Dairy fiasco in California, “Bureaucrats will never forgive you for beating them in court…They think the courts are theirs to carry out their will.”
Mark Nolt may be a pacifist in his belief; his character however exemplifies humility and strength. I don’t consider him a weak individual. Bill Chirdon on the other hand is more then a bully, he is a tyrant and will say and do what ever he has to in order to achieve his objective. He had better not underestimate Mark Nolt.
Ken Conrad
" To die with one's sword unsheathed is most regrettable"
David Kendall
They don't need words. They have guns, and the willingness to use them.
You have to keep in mind Nolt's history. The forebears of his faith suffered intense persecution, including torture and burning at the stake, for standing up for their religious beliefs. What bully Bill is doing is, well just bullying; it pales in comparison.
Here is where I look on the bright side:
Mark's God is bigger than Bill's. The LORD blesses those who put their trust in Him.
The man who is to be most feared, and whom the State fears the most, is the man who is not afraid to die.
Maybe that is just a little bit too religious and apocalyptic for some of you. But you have to remember that governments killed over 262 million of their own citizens in the 20th century, many of them by famine. That is where government control of the food system inevitably leads.
We farmers are beginning to face the possibility that our lives, livelihoods, and families may be destroyed. If we don't prevail much worse may be in the offing. Times like this call for more faith like Nolt's.
Your blog has evolved from a previously curious and intelligent observer to a delightfully informative, somewhat rowdy and notorious speakeasy/teacher/townhall soapbox for both sides over the past year or so. Never has the like happened. Thank you!
This marks the turning point - where are the citizens willing to unsheath their sword? Because without them Mark Nolt will surely fall. I can imagine the glee on Bill's face. I would love to shame him for his lowly goals. Why isn't he shutting down meat processors, or fighting the FDA? (As Ron Schmid says in "The Untold Story of Milk", because raw milk dairies are an easily located target that they hold up victoriously as a trophy for protecting the public health. "See? I'm doing my job!" While people statewide continue to die of heart disease, cancer etc.
David Kendall,
I now would re-word that quote to "To die with one's sword sheathed...". Because while dying with one's sword UNsheathed may be bitter disappointment, at least you died trying. Dying with one's sword sheathed means they took your life without a fight, a lone soldier on the bridge.
(I mean sword figuratively here; any weapon, be it legal, monetary, articulate pens, face-to-face confrontation with regulators, etc.)
Maybe we should quote Dylan Thomas instead... " Do not go gentle into that goodnight"?
This is what David (Gumpert's) entry says to me; Stand up and be counted; Join Sally Fallon's Army of Angry Moms, Donate to FTCLDF, Visit your legislators and your regulators, Make a YouTube video, Teach your neighbor about raw milk and allergies/arthritis/eczema/lactose intolerance; Get in your car and drive to the capitol; Act like an American -- the old kind -- and fight for your freedom!
-Blair
If Mark Nolt has done such poor job defending himself why did the thugs find it necessary to return a third time? Did they not have enough food that lacked their "PAPERS" from the first and second raids.?
To say Chirdon is a bully is a gross understatement in my view. This bully seems to me little less than a violent criminal for he is striving to deny Marks customers the LIFE AND HEALTH GIVING FOODS that would result in the degradatiion of their health which will inflict bodily harm. The problem is this is not just about Chirdon this is government policy nation wide and coming from the top down, is it not?
Write to him. Tell him how you feel. I'm going to do that just now. So what if you don't live in PA.
Sounds to me like we need to make some friends at the local Sherrifs department so the "guns part" of this oppression is no longer interested or cooperative.
So who knows the local sherrif??...go see him and get him on our side? Do this privately. He does not hurt his friends guaranteed!! Do not embarrass him. He is an elected official and wants to look good for the people.
This has happened in other rebellions. Lets do it here. Mark Nolte needs friends in all places. Who knows the cops?? Cops have a hard time with bright strong willed educated moms. Send in the moms.... it worked in CA. Ever seen a hungry and angry Lioness??? The time to attack the cops is not on raid day. It is before raid day.
Always take your video camera ( lots of them ) and always always play to the video camera.
This is a battle of U-Tube...video footage wins and grabs headlines.
Amish video wins all.
Remember the loving forgiveness of the Amish after school house milk man murders.
This nation cried....
....bring them to their knees.
Think strategic and think smart guys.
Mark McAfee
OPDC
I agree, let all of the moms have a voice. Lay everything on the table, and let us discuss each point of view. Sadly, that is not the case. TPTB in the raw milk world dictate what can be/cannot be discussed.
Perhaps there is a way to reach the leaders of the sect and the community and asking them about how Mark can be represented without breaking religious rules, if indeed there is a way. Has this been attempted yet?
This appears to be the case with the govt entities. Look at what happened in CA. and those who didn't show up to discuss the matters at hand.
There is much to be learned from the Amish, since their apparently frustrating ways (not wanting to sue, not wanting to be photographed) are highly principled aspects of religious beliefs centering on the tension between being in the world, but not of the world. These beliefs, founded in earliest years of persecution in the Reformation (when they were considered radically liberal), are powerfully illustrated in cases like Mark's.
This is a much similar effect as to how the scare campaign of recalls and press releases seems to only help business for raw milk producers.
An independent lab test found no traces of any pathogens from the farm's milk.
http://www.hendricksfarmsanddairy.com/