Saturday, September 20, 2014

"There are probably 10 or more races within the Melungeons"...Say What ?

Sometimes I run across some comical stuff , I just have to scratch my head, wait a second, I’ll reword that, sometimes I run across something so pitiful, it’s comical and I have to scratch my head....

  
I ran across this good example, it was a book review named 'New book tackles Melungeon mystery', a review of a book written by Dr. Terry W. Mullins. After reading the review, maybe this book should have been titled  'New book FUMBLES Melungeon mystery'.


 
The book is 'Melungeons out of the Dungeon', looks like the book was written for elementary school students ?

"In all my research I’d never seen anything geared toward children. My book is the story of the Melungeon people written for children."

I wonder why?  First of all most children have never heard of the term 'Melungeon' before. Secondly, I wouldn’t think it to be a subject that an elementary school student would understand, or even be interested in. I consider it an 'adult subject'.

Also, I have a problem with Dr. Mullins' 'theories', which I hope aren’t included in his book.

"While the definition and origins of this "multi-racial" group of people vary, Mullins believes the Melungeons are descendants of the Spanish that settled in the southeast United States and intermarried with the American Indians. He noted the Spanish settlers included Portuguese and several hundred Moors and Turks."

"There are probably 10 or more races within the Melungeons,” the Tazewell resident pointed out. “Some have a Mediterranean look and some have an Arabic look."

"According to his theory, people from the Spanish colonies, particularly the Santa Elena settlement on the coast of South Carolina, moved into the interior of the country after they were abandoned in the late 1500s. Records in Spain, Mullins said, report the colonists traveling as far as Asheville, N.C."

I find this interesting as Dr. Mullins is a descendant of 'Irish Jim Mullins'. He doesn’t mention the Irish, or the Scot-Irish and leaves out any mention of Sub Saharan Africans in his 'theory'.

Appears Mullins has a bad case of Kennedyitis, yet another 'victim' of "PBKN" [Post Brent Kennedy Nonsense]
 
His approach reminds me of this sign.........

  
And why the use of the word 'Dungeon' in the book's title ? I have no knowledge of the people who were called 'Melungins' ever being in any dungeons ?

The illusion that the word dungeon creates, is something scary, dark, unpleasant. A young mind might not understand this 'illusion'.

I'll admit I haven't read this book, and I don't plan too. This review says enough for me.

I sent a link of this book review to another 'Melungin' descendent who lives in East Tennessee today, their comment.......

"This is the silliest book ever written about the Melungeons, its stupidity at it's highest degree."

I'm not surprised that this 'author' has been a speaker at MHA (Melungeon Heritage Association) functions, par for the course for that organization.

I'll be posting some of my observations of the MHA in the near future.

Adult books for adult topics, I'm old school. That's my two cents....... 


 

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