It is one of the many sad facts of life that when you’re unhappy, looking for others who are unhappier to compare yourself to quickly becomes an extra full-time job. Fortunately, there are a plethora of characters (figuratively and literally) in the Midtown area ready to accommodate your need to see just one other person more miserable than you.
Enter the Times Square movie and TV characters, struggling to make a living by hoping that tourists will tip them a few dollars in exchange for posing for a photo. Like their Hollywood Boulevard counterparts in Los Angeles, these people are most likely just trying to act, and this is what they do in their spare time. Either that, or they’re hoping to be “discovered” by someone influential in the Theater District. Or maybe they’re just fucking delusional. Who knows?
The only thing that’s certain is that they’ve got to be more depressed than you–even if they do get to get to spend their time outside and make their own schedule. They still have to mug for the crowds more overtly than you have to mug for your corporate superiors. And so, tip your hat to them (or just give them a tip) the next time you walk by trying to evade their dull gaze. After all, they’re part of what’s helping you get through the day, because at least someone has a shittier job than you.