Lesson from my time at Soledad Prison

I taught a political science course on parties and elections at Soledad Prison.  Inmates received college credit if they passed.  Not many prisoners were in the program; the reading level at Soledad was about 4th grade.  During the orientation I was told if there was a riot and I was taken hostage, the authorities would not come and get me.  There were no negotiations for hostages.  

I thought about this when I read that Iran was demanding money to release a Swedish aid worker.  Recently the U.S. paid 6 billion for the release of a prisoner who was a U.S. citizen.  This was Iranian money in U.S. banks that the U.S. had frozen as part of sanctions.  The Biden administration said it wasn’t taxpayer money, and besides the money could only be used for things like medical care.  

This was so stupid.  Money is fungible.  If Iran would have spent 6 billion on medical care, the money they would have spent can be diverted into weapons to sell to Russia.

So now Iran is holding a Swedish diplomat hostage and demanding ransom.  And why wouldn’t it?  The U.S. caved; why wouldn’t Sweden?

Here’s the rule.  You take a hostage, you can have him.  He’s already dead to us.  He is worth nothing.  

So why take a hostage?  Sometimes our government is so dumb it makes my head hurt.

Note:  a few years after I taught that course at Soledad, San José State stopped offering college courses at the prison.  Taxpayers complained that prisoners were getting a free college education while their kids had to pay tuition.  What a short-sighted way to think.