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attempted to become a kind and caring individual. Of late I'm finding that some mistake my consideration for either weakness or stupidity. Hence the OP.
You're not alone.
I've always been (or tried to be) considerate and polite to people, and yes, it's been mistaken for weakness and/or stupidity.
On occasion, people who made that mistake have, much to their surprise, been subjected to my dark side.
Yes. I WILL bite if pushed far enough and hard enough.
Anyway, my thought on this is that it doesn't hurt to be considerate. If they don't appreciate it, fuck 'em. Then I do it for me.
If anything, continue being considerate for yourself. To be a better person. 
Yes, it is possible.
If people see your considerateness as weakness, then that's a bad thing.
It was in the late 1970's, when the Right Wing fundy whack job extremists whipped up hate and loathing against Jimmy Carter. Our society seemed to really go down hill from there, and this trend hyper-accelerated during Ronnie Raygun's presidency.
When Carter was being attacked, it was because the fundy whack jobs were saying he was too soft and his response to the hostage situation was too weak.
I can remember people saying things like: "I like your attitude" (in the most horrible smug tone of voice) when people spewed right wing talking points and vitriol.
Being considerate, which involves in being aware that other people exist, and have rights, seemed to be seen as a sign of weakness. Being tolerant of others' differences just...went out of style. 
On another DU thread, posted after the theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, someone suggested reading the book, "Going Postal", by Mark Ames.
That book does a bang-on job of describing how our society has turned to attacks and violence. It is a response to a viciously cruel social and political climate.
I very much want to thank whomever it was who posted the suggestion to read that book.
Now, if I could just get over the chills it gave me. 