Positively Negative

I've heard and read several motivational speakers and life coaches say that in order to remain a positive person, one should stay away from negative people and tune them out.  This is something I don't agree with.

If a person is genuinly positive, it should mean that he or she will be receptive, open and kind towards others, no matter their perspective of life.  I think it's unrealistic and naive to tune out negativity completely when we live in such unperfect world. I stand by the fact that it is more than okay to listen, be receptive to others, and be open to their concerns and whatever it is they want to share with us.  When someone comes to you and tells you their problems, to judge them as negative and tune them out or simply stay away from them is actually very selfish and cold.  I'm not saying we need to encourage or reinforce their negative behavior, or entertain it... what I'm saying is, POSITIVITY should be more powerful than negativity.  It should mean that the power of your positivity is greater, and that your positivity will bring them up, instead of their negativity bringing you down.  We should let our light shine bright to help others, and not to go shine our light under a bed.  Being a positive person should mean that we're able to filter out the negative stuff and channel it properly.  A positive person should know about meditation and spend some time daily letting go of all the negativity in their mind, in a hollistic and therapeutic way.  It helps to see the negative stuff going on around us so that we can appreciate the good and everything we have in a more genuine way.  A positive person should respect and be receptive to every human being, perhaps even every living creature.  I believe in the power of meditation, and it exists so that we can clean our minds and our souls from the negative factors which pollute us.  I try to learn from everyone and everything I witness... I'd like to think of myself as a positive person, at least the majority of the time, but I also feel great knowing people trust me by coming to me to share their problems or concerns; it makes me feel appreciated and valued.  I see this as an opportunity to help and perhaps spread the love and my positive perspective.  How can someone ever say that we should stay away from that?