Associate: to join as a partner, friend, or companion; They were closely associated with each other during the war.
See? I can paste definitions too! I was merely pointing out that that specific word choice could lead the reader to infer collaboration or partnership. The comic is clearly not endorsing that worldview...
I don't know what to tell you mate. You came off to me as if trying to tell me I didn't use the word "associate" correctly, and I was trying to show you that I, in fact, did. I got nothing else for ya.