I like this take, I think you’re generalizing a bit with it being an ND thing but I do relate. Except I never really felt like this was empathy. Aside from being autistic I have multiple invisible illnesses that do affect my appearance (frail, very short, extremely weak, slow movement) and the fact I’m an AFAB, NB, trans queer lol. I get picked on a lot and I have been since before I even knew these things about myself. I find myself extremely aware of how the world treats me and in turn almost extremely aware of the world treats others. It’s extremely tiring, especially when no one believes me that I’m being treated differently. But that’s quite common with many minority experiences. I don’t feel a lot of empathy though, I’m not a fan of helping others, and I don’t ride other peoples emotional waves unless I really care about them or relate to them. I do however attribute my autism to a lack of bias, since my brain approaches everything with logic. Maybe bias isn’t the right word but it feels like it is. When it comes to “choosing sides” or I refer to it as “turning on my bias” I choose with empathy, and that understanding of how others are treated.