OP. I agree. Most people who do this are usually blind to their own faults as well. They will usually say thing like
"I have my faults BUT .. " Then they proceed to list all of the things they of course "NEVER" do, failing to list the almost certainly equally long list of irritating (albeit probably different) things they do do. This is because people generally think that other people's faults are always worse than their own.
I you want to see this in action, just ask people to list the three things they least like in themselves and the three thing they least like in others. In my experience you generally get thinks like
- I am too soft/let people walk all over me,
- I am a bit irritable sometimes etc"
- I can be a bit lazy sometimes
for themselves, whereas for others it is more likely to be things like. " I dislike it when others are entitled/selfish/take advantage of others/are rude /never help out etc etc".
This is of course normal for everyone including me but so many people are unaware of this in themselves and those are the types who like to 'point out other people's faults publicly.
Obviously it is sometimes important to say something if someone has done something that is dangerous or is really inconveniencing a lot of people on a regular basis, but I think it is better to approach this from the angle that the person being thoughtless is very likely to be no worse a person than you are, they have probably just pre-occupied/having a bad day etc.
Before anyone says I am a 'bleeding heart" type who finds too many excuses, there are obviously bad people in the world (some very bad), I am under no illusions about that, but I would suggest that it is always best to at least start with the expectation that the person doing the thoughtless thing is not a "bad" person.
As for me thinking twice before doing something again. Unless what I did was something that I really agree is beyond the pale, being "told off" for doing something that I did in a moment of hurry/thoughtlessness would just get my back up and would also make me want to do it again just to piss them off. Of course I wouldn't do that, but it would be my first internal reaction I am afraid
Then again I think I have a healthy balance of respect and mistrust of authority but I suppose I would say that wouldn't I?:)
Also for those who don't understand the difference:
At school - Tattle tale is someone who tells on someone else because they are breaking the school rules but where the breaking of the rules is not putting themselves or anyone else in danger or doing any direct harm to anyone. In that case it is best for the child not to say anything to the other child or to a teacher. At least if they don't want to come across as a pompous know it all anyway
If the rule breaking is something that could be harmful to themselves or someone else, then telling a teacher is fine