I'd say definitely yes, it would be better if they did not associate, but I'm not sure if you pushing or not will work. So maybe you pushing will actually make

I'd say definitely yes, it would be better if they did not associate, but I'm not sure if you pushing or not will work. So maybe you pushing will actually make them get even closer to the undesirable friends. But you could maybe talk to them and try to show them that it is not a good idea. Observing other persons' behaviors and reasoning about them being good or bad is not the same as associating with them. You can observe and learn; you don't need to necessarily bring them into your home or have them around you all the time. Not everyone deserves empathy, that is absurd and it's actually inhuman; if you believe that you yourself has the duty to show empathy to everyone, regardless of whatever they do, you are assuming an unrealistic responsibility on your back and setting yourself up for failure, confusion, and constant disappointment. As a human being, and individual, and a small cog on the big social system, you have not only the right but maybe the duty (?) to reason about other people's behaviors, make conclusions and take decisions that are at your reach, as an individual human being (and not above). I come from a poor family from a weird small town in the middle of a poor country hundreds of kilometers away from any kind of interesting or relevant cultural/social center. I made it out and ended up in quite a nice place (at an international level) and I believe that it was in a big part due to me being very selective about the people I decided to be around with. That may sound elitist, but it's not at all; I made these decisions on my own, I chose those who did me good and those who didn't. By pushing the harmful people away from me I think I had much more space on my mind and my time to spend on things that rewarded me best. Whenever I get in touch with the guys who stayed behind that belief just intensifies. Everyone who is around you affects you, invariably, so it's up to you to manage that, nobody else.