I've gotta kinda mute my empathy to not be depressed all the time. I like to set aside an hour or so every couple months to meditate on all the suffering in the world and collapse into a sobbing mess. I can't be doing that all the time.

2 months late and I know NATHANG about autism, but:

There are differences between empathy for the humane suffering in the world, and a person that you are interacting with, which can directly be affected by your actions and behavior.

Great difference

Not if you believe in your ability to reduce the suffering in the world.

Now that you write that: especially if you think you are a good human to the world, you might be a monster to your direct-contact fellow humans.

As I say there’s a great difference between empathy for no-contact human beings VS few direct-contact human beings.

I suppose in the sense that empathy for beings in general is more "pure", whereas oftentimes "empathy" for direct-contact beings can be closer to vicarious egotism. To that point, being a "good human" to your direct-contact humans might make you a monster to the rest of the world.