I don't see things as so black and white and I don't believe that some people feel the effect of their actions at all.
"tread softly when you have to deal with those of simpler parts
for if truth were told all unaware you tread upon their hearts".
Sangarachitta
A lot of people do not have the sensitivity to know when they are hurting others. Our society allows us to hurt others by law. We still live to a great extent as the survival of the fittest. We work so hard we lose ourselves and have little time for our families. I think most of us walk along half unconscious most of the time because we are too busy.
Buddhism sees compassion as loving kindness. The dictionary says it is
Compassion | Define Compassion at Dictionary.com
Where we come from with our compassion will determine whether it is any use or not. Most people who need compassion, like it or not have at some time been really hurt. They respond to this by blocking off. Once they have blocked off they are able to hurt other people because they no longer feel empathy.
Compassion does not see the person who has committed a fault as the fault. That is the difference. It sees a hurt person who underneath that pain is as good as anyone else but who has in the past or still is at the moment acting in a hurtful or in some other anti social way. But that is not the person. That is the act.
Compassion speaks to the person underneath. Sometimes that person can hear and starts to respond. Whatever anyone has done to get themselves into the situation which needs compassion cannot be changed but it is possible to bring most people back to their humanity rather than leaving them as 'the act', 'the fault'.
and of course compassion sometimes is for people who have done nothing wrong at all.
I think compassion and empathy walk close together.
A political internet forum would not be my first place to go looking for compassion!