I like Phillip Hallies take on this, that the opposite of cruelty is not kindness but hospitality. Meaning, you can be abusing somebody and still also treat them with kindness is a moment (which is confusing for victims). However, you can't be both cruel and hospitable because if you're treating others the way that they want to be treated/are most comfortable, that's incompatible with cruelty.
Likewise, being a good person isn't equal to being a kind person. I remember something being told to me to the effect of, there was a Dr who was working in a 3rd world country like doctors without borders and he was trying to treat children without anesthetics. He had to perform a painful procedure on a child, and looking at it in a surface level, that constitutes cruelty- but it was necessary and otherwise the child would have died. Sometimes we have to inflict pain and suffering on others as a byproduct of what will heal or better somebody.
Likewise, being a good person isn't equal to being a kind person. I remember something being told to me to the effect of, there was a Dr who was working in a 3rd world country like doctors without borders and he was trying to treat children without anesthetics. He had to perform a painful procedure on a child, and looking at it in a surface level, that constitutes cruelty- but it was necessary and otherwise the child would have died. Sometimes we have to inflict pain and suffering on others as a byproduct of what will heal or better somebody.