Occupy’s support divided, poll says

Backing in Mass. split on political, geographic lines

December 05, 2011|By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

Occupy Boston protesters have been camping in Dewey Square near South Station… (Brian Snyder/Reuters )

Massachusetts residents are starkly divided over the Occupy movement, splitting along political, economic, and geographic lines, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.

The survey found that 41 percent approved of the movement, 38 percent disapproved, and 21 percent were undecided or would not answer the question. Though the survey did not ask residents directly about their party affiliation, it found a strong correlation between support for the Occupy movement and approval of President Obama’s handling of the economy.

Forty-six percent approved of the president’s economic policies, 42 percent disapproved.

Women, blacks, younger adults, renters, and Suffolk County residents - all key Democratic constituencies - tended to hold more favorable views of the Occupy movement, which has taken over parks across the country and clashed with police in some cities. In Boston, police arrested 141 protesters in October after demonstrators tried to expand their tent city. “When you break up the demographics, it’s clear as a bell,’’ said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “The left-leaning residents are lining up behind both Obama’s approval rating and the Occupy movement’s approval rating.’’

The poll of 400 Bay State residents was conducted last week. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The Occupy movement began in September, when protesters took over Zuccotti Park in New York City’s financial district to protest corporate power, the influence of Wall Street, and growing stratification of wealth in the country. Similar tent cities soon sprouted in cities around the world, including Boston, where protesters have been camped in Dewey Square, across from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, for more than two months.

Most of the protests have been relatively peaceful, but have caused friction with neighbors. Many cities have complained the encampments have become health hazards and sought to evict protesters. Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston has said he does not have immediate plans to evict the protesters, but his administration has asked a Suffolk Superior Court judge to lift a temporary court order barring the city from doing so.

Jill O’Loughlin, a 47-year-old crossing guard from Norwell, said the Occupy protests have largely had a positive impact, encouraging people to focus on issues such as the role of the financial sector in the financial crisis.

“The banks are too big to fail, so they got bailed out by the government,’’ O’Loughlin said. “I think Occupy Boston is bringing that to the attention of people.’’