The consonance between the words "spectator" and "spectre" is intriguing. The range of words beginning with "spec" have all to do with the gaze, with looking, with the eye, or the light that makes seeing possible, or, in the case of "spec" itself, not seeing possible.
But consider how spectre fits into that range - the notion that the defining principle of a ghost or wraith, if we are to run with this line of thought, is one who looks, or one who only looks: a perpetual spectator. The pure spectator is a spectre. It sounds like spectator truncated.
And then start thinking about how much in our culture is set towards being the spectator in some form, and how because of it, we are becoming less able to interact with each other in a real tangible way because we are becoming like ghosts to one another.
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