Comment by MARTHA BRENINGER
As one of the Tecoma 8, sued by McDonald’s last year for trespass, I have been growing weary of people who are in support of McDonald’s, Tecoma, misunderstanding why I chose to occupy the roof in protest against the development.
I receive comments such as “you lost, it hasn’t changed anything, move on!” or “everything you did was for nothing”.
I believe it is very naive to think that this campaign hasn’t changed anything and more so that what I chose to do was solely about Tecoma and the Dandenong Ranges.
I often wonder why so many people think this is just about Tecoma, that we were just fighting for this issue in isolation.
Of course Tecoma is the root of this protest but this campaign that I am a part of is just a fragment of a much larger movement that is growing – the recognition and exposing of corporate power, greed and its effect on our planet.
Tecoma has helped spread this globally in a significant way – the campaign has showed many people exactly how the system works.
I think that our actions have caused people to have more awareness of these issues surrounding the system and the power of money.
The community might have had a chance to take this to the Supreme Court to order McDonald’s to leave but, due to the massive expense, we were unable.
However, McDonald’s was able to take that avenue when they didn’t like their outcome – we live in a system that favours the rich.
This campaign put that in the spotlight, that something is terribly wrong.
If you have money and power, you can get away with erroneous behaviour without consequence.
Hundreds of thousands of people listened because a community stood up.
That rippled out into the world and has changed many people’s attitudes, inspired so many which, in turn, is creating change!
That is what I am communicating. I did not do this just for Tecoma and, regardless of the reality that the building is there, we most certainly have made an impact.
Our bad attitude to beautiful places of the world has to change!
We are evidently destroying the planet!
These corporations run like machines that don’t value our natural world and I will continue to stand up to these machines that are highly complicit in destroying our health and planet.
Right now we have reached the point where people have to protest to protect some of our old growth forests from being taken off the World Heritage register because our Prime Minister wants them torn down.
Sit up in Toolangi trees to protect endangered species, march to save our Great Barrier Reef, campaign against one of the oldest living creatures on earth being culled, sign petitions to protect centuries old aboriginal land and art!
I am one of many people trying to protect the beautiful Dandenong Ranges from an overload of corporate destruction.
I do not associate McDonald’s with a cheesburger, rather I see them as one of many corporations helping to destroy our natural world.
I was thinking ahead to the world I want to leave my great grandchildren.
I am committed to keeping the beauty in our world and am prepared to do what ever is necessary for it.
