I only said it's important to be able to listen and acknowledge that people are troubled. That a person is troubled and therefore abusive to others is just an extension of that. I don't understand this downside you're explaining.
Well, unless I'm wildly misreading it, the quote I attached to my post calls out a very stark judgment on people's perceived sufferings. Specifically, the "no one can be dismissed for their misery..." line.
Yeah, I don't dismiss that someone is miserable. I can also say they are abusive, hurt their children or spouse, are cruel and sadistic, or a myriad of other things. None of them make them not worth acknowledging their misery if they are miserable. In fact, just the opposite- it gives me a full idea of their motivations so I can better understand how to act around them in order to further my own interests of not being a target of their abuse, or how to best report their behavior to the correct authorities.
They're essentially talking about enabling. Sometimes listening and acknowledging can actually be harmful. Especially over a long term period of time if the person being acknowledged isn't actually changing (or attempting to change) the underlying behavior that's driving the unwanted effects.