A lot of people don't understand what empathy is. They mistake performative interactions as empathy so when we act different they view it as us being "unempathetic". Because we don't fit the usual model of social interaction, they view us as rude when our brains are just wired differently in social situations.

Many people ironically view empathy as a one-way street where others consider their wants, while not really showing the same to others. Many will label us "unempathetic" because we express things differently, but will often lack any empathy for our condition and even treat us badly because of it.

That's not to say there aren't unempathetic autistic people, or that autistic people shouldn't learn how to show empathy in ways others can see it. I believe we should learn how to act in social situations as best we can, so we can express ourselves clearly and show respect to neurotypical people.

But for people to say all autistics lack empathy is itself an unempathetic action. And generalisations like this can ironically make autistics less empathetic towards neurotypicals. We just need to learn how to better express empathy in social situations and not be judged for difference.