Probably many, if not most, people are, in fact and in most such situations, fair weather friends who would quietly abandon someone whose plight makes them uncomfortable (thereby proving that they did not ever love that person). I would call that a human more than a cultural trait. Could it be that that's not because you're a WASP, but because you're an unfeeling sociopath? I wouldn't blame it on being a WASP... that's not a sufficient excuse. WASPs are supposed to keep their feelings hidden; that is not the same as absence of compassion, empathy etc.
What are you implying?