The absolute arrogance of these bankers, going to beat people they knew were starving and looking down on them as street garbage they could injure, or even kill and thinking it great sport for themselves! The one fact that stands out like a throbbing boil is how much the rich hate and despise those they victimize, and consider inferior. 

 

 

In May 1934, rich businessmen in Minneapolis decided it would be “fun” to beat starving workers.

They put on badges.

They picked up clubs.

And they walked into the streets thinking no one would fight back.

The Great Depression was crushing families. Truck drivers were working nearly 90 hours a week for about $12. Many could not feed their children. The city was controlled by the Citizens Alliance, a secret group of wealthy business owners who had crushed unions for decades. They owned politicians. They influenced police. They decided who had power.

When drivers from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 574 went on strike, the Alliance chose violence.

The police force was too small.

So they created their own army.

Hundreds of bankers, lawyers, and businessmen were sworn in as “Special Deputies.” No training. No experience. Just badges and wooden clubs. They were sent to the Warehouse District to break the strike.

May 21, 1934.

They lined up to escort a strikebreaking truck.

They thought workers would be scared.

They were wrong.

The drivers were organized. They had communication systems. Medical teams. Lookouts. And weapons.

Baseball bats.

Pipes.

Sticks.

A signal went out.

From alleys and side streets, nearly 600 drivers emerged.

No chanting.

No speeches.

They charged.

The wealthy deputies panicked. Many had never been in a real fight. Their line collapsed. Clubs dropped. Men ran. Drivers chased them through streets and fences.

Two deputies d*ed.

More than 30 were hospitalized.

Newspapers called it “The Battle of Deputies Run.”

The city’s power structure had been broken in public.

Months later, police tried again. On “Bloody Friday,” they sh*t dozens of strikers. Forty thousand people marched in protest. The federal government was forced to step in.

Eventually, the Alliance surrendered.

The union won.

Wages rose.

Rights expanded.

Power shifted.

They learned something that day.

Money can buy badges.

But it cannot buy courage.

When workers finally fight back,

who is really “law and order” protecting?