I don't know the origin. The phrase is a way of saying, "Something bad happened to me, but worse things have happened to other people." Example: A man is in a fight in a bar. After the fight, he has bruises and a bloody nose. He says, "You should see the other guy," which means the other person in the fight is in an even worse condition. The phrase can be used humorously: You stand on a chair to change a light bulb. You fall off the chair and hurt yourself. People come to help you. You say, "You should have seen the other guy." There is really no "other guy." But you say this just for the sake of injecting a little humor into the situation.