Library Stairs, Council Chambers and Movietown—Weho's 'Unknown Knowns'

I do not and did not like Donald Rumsfeld or his boss or his politics. That said, I have learned that he was absolutely right, one time. He said: "There are known knowns, there are known unknowns and there are unknown unknowns." As I read and write comments on Patch articles, I realize that many of the smart and savvy commenters are in the midst of this way of thinking.

Quoting Geoffrey Wheatcroft in his Jan. 1 New York Times story, "Unknown knowns were things that were not all inevitable and were easily knowable, but which people chose to 'unknow.'" If you bought a house and the deal sounded too good to be true and you knew it and you did it anyway, that became an unknown known.

Judge Judy uses the "$150 genuine Rolex watch sold from inside a coat" example. Everybody knows it's fake. The buyer chooses to unknow that and gets shafted. It is not denial. People know things, things that are not a good idea, and then just unknow them in order to justify them or to have them, which brings me to such things as the stairs at the new West Hollywood Library.  

If you try to use them you know they are not right. This is a known. I believe the architects and engineers knew it too, but it became an unknown known, because it was simply not part of someone's plan or vision. The same can be said for the Council Chambers.  

Before the public used the room, it was certainly known that the entire design was lousy and didn't work, but because it was okayed throughout its plan, it became an unknown known. In another way of looking at it, things that are foreseeable, because you know they are going to happen and/or have happened, become unforseen because there is an immediate gratification or a quid pro quo. And like an icky car accident - you heard it, you might have seen it, but you keep driving, because you don't want to know about it.

Global politics and local politics are not much different. The difference is what is at stake. In most cases, large and small, it is a matter of asking the right questions, such as: Will people be able to negotiate the library stairs safely? Not: Are the stairs okay for everyone to climb?

The first time the first member of the public commented on the council chambers is when the city realized this was not an unknown known any longer. Now it will take until March and more money to know it was poorly designed, and they will try to fix it. Do not hold your breath.  

I have not mentioned lovely Plummer Park, because this known known is still a work very much in transition. It is my opinion that no one looking at the design could not have known it was wrong. They chose to unknow it until some loud, determined, smart residents announced they knew it and did something.

And Movietown. I can't speak for Mr. Casden and his knowing, but he might have either listened harder or faced reality before he evicted all the small businesses from Movietown Plaza. I suspect his finances were known and he simply decided to unknow them. Were the tenants stupid to leave? That is an unknown unknown. I am certain they are angry as ticks though. I would be.

This blog was inspired by Geoffrey Wheatcroft in the NY Times Opinion section of New Year's Day 2012. It is worth reading. I was relieved to see it, because as a pragmatist and a realist, I have known about knowns for a long time. This is not to say I am never in denial - even then is it more a hope that something isn't true when I suspect it is.

I would suggest that every Patch commenter - as soon as he or she knows - does more than comment.  Air the dirty linen, take a risk and call someone, and don't stop until everyone knows. You know what I mean.