You are on to something here, and it's easy to see how the culture that existed in Tibet could have had the unfortunate side effect of producing people who are completely out of touch with their emotions, perhaps even thinking they don't have any, and how that might explain a lot in terms of the problematic behavior we have seen.

At the same time, your conclusion is incorrect. It's not an either/or situation, with practices on one side and feeding the poor on the other. Rather, it's a mutually enriching situation.

There is plenty of bleeding heart compassionate people running around in the West, but somehow the whole thing is very ineffectual. There is an outpouring of emotion, alright, but we lack the bigger picture, and we lack a method through which that bigger picture can be realized. This results in a situation where you have people who want to help, but their capacity to do so is minimal.

That's where the practices come in. They will develop you, they will help you orient yourself, and will ensure that the bigger picture is a mainstay in your mind.

The ideal way forward seems to be to use the energy of the bleeding heart compassion, and put it into the practice. Use it as the life blood of the practice. Develop your practice and through that, allow yourself to develop, and pretty soon, it will be clear to you how to realize your potential for compassionate action.