I don't think anyone defines an asshole as: >[...] someone who stands by their standards and does so firmly because they believe in their personal principles?

I don't think anyone defines an asshole as: >[...] someone who stands by their standards and does so firmly because they believe in their personal principles? That's integrity. Being stubborn and abrasive about it, however, isn't the same thing as having integrity. Paraphrasing something I heard on the point: 'most people interested in being brutally honest are more interested in being brutal than being honest.'