A thief may claim that he intended to merely borrow some items.
An embezzler may say he only took a loan.
A person who insulted somebody may say he just used rough language, or was simply joking.
And so, even if I accept the charge of having told a bad joke at a bad time, I will still tend to see the error as much less severe than it actually was.
Therefore, even when one wants to right internal wrongs (if such a thought ever occurs to a person), one nevertheless tends to be lenient with one’s self.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz