Occupy JP splits up for now

Occupy JP, a local version of the Occupy Wall Street movement, split up earlier this year, but might “reconvene” around an important cause in the future, according to one of its members.

“It was not really any ideological split,” said Joe Cugini, a Jamaica Plain resident and former Occupy JP member, in an email to the Gazette. “We just [had] different ideas about new projects and were all too stubborn to reconcile them. Maybe it was a case of JP progressive types just taking all these things so seriously and passionately—and we can’t let go of our positions!”

Many of the former Occupy JP members remain active in other movements, including Occupy Boston, Cugini said.

“I really can’t say if OJP will collect together again, spurred by some specific campaign,” he said. But, he added, the split was friendly and it is possible that Occupy JP would regroup.

Occupy JP was an attempt to help keep the Occupy movement alive by rooting it in neighborhood issues rather than in an “occupation” camp. The group debuted in December 2011 with two JP protest marches. It also joined in various protests elsewhere, including against the recent MBTA fare hikes and service cuts.

But by early this year, Occupy JP was already facing declining membership and concerns about a lack of focus. It split up around the time of its final public appearance as a participant in JP’s Wake Up the Earth Festival in May, Cugini said.

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