I believe everyone is empathetic, just as everyone is creative but some have more/less aptitude/traits and perhaps training and skill comes into it also. Too, some people probably get hurt or bothered and try to squelch things that frighten them or that they don't understand.

Read some of Dr. Judith Orloff's books, she makes a lot of things understandable (at least did for me):

http://www.drjudithorloff.com/default.asp