Disreputable Associations

I was talking to a friend of mine, last night, who recently broke up with an acquaintance of mine that I knew before I knew my friend. My friend and another friend of ours were giving me grief for hanging out with my acquaintance and another acquaintance seeing as they're both 'horrible, misogynistic, losers' and 'scumbags'. They are Gunners fans, I must admit, and I sometimes watch Arsenal games with them on Saturdays (giving them as much grief as I can) and they do leer at the passing pulchritudinous lasses on Haight Street when they go out to smoke but who doesn't really? Though I must say I don't usually make any audible comments as they are sometimes wont to do when they're in their cups.

I got a bit annoyed since as far as 'losers' go, I think that somewhat hypocritical considering the company we all keep in a Lower Haight bar, not to mention somewhat uncharitable. 'Scumbags'? They're hardly the worst of the lot by a long shot. 'Misogynistic'? Perhaps a trifle but they're primarily just indiscreetly lecherous, which can happen to anyone and I don't hang around them to compare notes on our local damsels but 'cause they know their team and the league and its transfer history well, and make cogent arguments about formations, player performances, etc... To accuse my friends of mere bitterness and hypocricy would be easy but then I wondered at what point does associating with people held in such low regard actually taint one's own reputation. I like to think that I'm polite and kind to almost everyone, giving them the benefit of the doubt due to someone in whose shoes I have never walked, but am I merely helping to sully my own reputation?