Can he see or is he blind?

I made a really big mistake this morning. Huge mistake. I listened to...the radio. Ugh. I know, I know, it's my own fault. I know better than to listen to these clowns. I didn't like them when they were on afternoons and I don't like them on mornings. In fact, the only time I liked them was when they got replaced on afternoons and didn't have the morning gig. That's right, the show was at it's best when it didn't exist.

It's your typical morning radio show. "Jokes" about strippers and prostitutes to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Jokes might be the wrong word, that would imply that they're funny.


Today, for the couple minutes I could stomach, they were talking about their upcoming 'Creamed Corn Wrestling' event and Iron Man. A listener called in and asked them if Black Sabbath's Iron Man were based on the comic book character. They said that as far as they new it was. This is because they're idiots who have no actual interest in thinking about what they say.

From Wikipedia:

The song is about a person who travels through time to, or for the benefit of, mankind's future. On his way back, he is transformed to steel with "boots of lead" when he passes through a "magnetic field." Because of his new form, people reject him – despite his efforts for the benefit of mankind – and as revenge, he tries to kill them.

It turns out the terrible event he tried to warn people of was him.

Well, that doesn't sound like Tony Stark. At all. But, in the interest of completion, lets see what Wikipedia says about the character:

"Iron Man" is a song by the rock band Black Sabbath. It was later retconned into the source of Iron Man's name, as it was a young Tony Stark's favorite song.[issue # needed]The Sabbath song is played over the closing credits of the 2008 movie.

Ah, so there we have it. 30 seconds of research to find out that the song is not, in fact, about the comic book character. 30 seconds is an eternity in radio though. So, lets look at the lyrics themselves. I would think that this is a song that a radio host with a male demographic would be at least somewhat familiar with.

I AM IRON MAN
Has he lost his mind
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall

Is he live or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
We'll just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
When he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

Now the time is here
For Iron Man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron Man lives again!

Ok, I can see how they could have been confused. The song is describing a being that is slow moving and at least a bit monstrous. Just like Tony Stark.

The problem isn't that they didn't know. It's that they didn't know, but passed it off as if they did. That just spreads ignorance, and there's enough of that out there already. Sure, this is a pretty trivial matter. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, how much does the origin of a song really matter? A hundred years from now, will anyone really care? It's just that, as members of the media, they need to be held to a higher standard. When they speak, thousands of people are listening. They have an obligation to think things through and present good information to the public. And the fact of the matter is that it's annoying as hell when they just don't care.