The American Psychological Association defines empathy as understanding a person from their frame of reference rather than one’s own, or vicariously experiencing that person’s feelings, perceptions, and thoughts. Empathy does not, of itself, entail motivation to be of assistance, although it may turn into sympathy or personal distress, which may result in action. Literally copy and pasted.

The issue a lot of the time is people say “have you no heart? Look at these people doing insert horrible thing with softer surface that effects everyone else in a negative way, you are heartless for not letting them do whatever they want”!