Vancouver bans Doorknobs

They could start with the bike lane mayor and maybe bar David Suzuki’s re-entry. Justin Trudeau would not be allowed to campaign…I love it.

But, wait, the Vancouver geniuses are banning actual doorknobs…no, really.

For some, the humble round doorknob is unremarkable and utilitarian, a simple tool, a means to an end. For others, it is a piece of art, an object of beauty, an architecturally significant adornment on the welcoming portal to a building. For others, it is so synonymous with ordinariness that a “knob” is a pejorative word for being dull or stupid.

In Vancouver, the doorknob is heading into a setting sun. Its future has been date-marked, legislated out of existence in all future construction, a tip to society’s quest for universal design and the easier-to-use lever handle. vancouver sun

There are, no doubt, good an valid reasons to prefer levers to knobs – but is it the business of the state to ban one and “privilege”, indeed mandate the other. The whole idea of the state being involved in our choice of door opening options shows just how far we have traveled down the authoritarian road.