THE FEAR OF “OTHERS”

Abstract

São Domingos, district in the municipality of Criciúma (State of Santa Catarina, Brazil), has undergone several transformations arising from the advance of urbanization. Since the 1980s, the neighborhood is no longer exclusively agricultural, with the installation of a ceramic industry, the beginning of a process of fractionation of properties and, more recently, the installation of a prison complex. This article presents the results of research that understand that the changes in the neighborhood are, among other factors, the fruits of the interaction that occurred between the subjects, producing various forms of social relationship. The research focuses on the perspective of the oldest residents of the neighborhood. The results show these changes are understood as a risk to their sense of community and to the values, which has contributed to the establishment of a culture of fear and insecurity, marked by the demarcation of differences between the subjects and the rupture of everyday life.