Do rogues HAVE to be the bad guys?

It seems that rogues have the unenviable stereotype of being the bad guys even when do not wish to be. I cringe a little bit when someone assumes that all rogues do is run around and gank people when they are most vulnerable. I would be lying to say that I have not crept to the rear of someone and slipped a dagger into their back when they were eating and drinking after a fight, because I have, though this is more the exception than the rule. The main problem is that by being a rogue, many other players assume that I prefer to harass players instead of enjoying the main content of the game. I would much rather spend my time raiding, doing a dungeon or even helping out a guild mate who is trying to level instead of traveling to Thousand Needles and picking on a low level horde or three for a few hours.
I still remember leveling up my rogue in Ashenvale, and for a solid two hours I could not complete a single quest because this one rogue would follow me and pick me off every chance he had, to the point where I logged off in disgust and played an alt for an hour then went back. When I ressed, I made it no more then 6 seconds before I was killed again by the same rogue who made it a point to laugh at me, jump on my corpse, and do something so distasteful that I will not refer to it here, yet I will say that to this day I cannot drink tea without wincing a little. Perhaps it was this moment where I decided I would not play a stereotypical rogue and would never be known as a “griefer.”
To this day I will not kill players who are more then ten levels below me for the sole purpose that they would not stand a chance, and even if I find someone who is the same level as me, yet they are at only at 10% health, I will not kill them simply because I find it distasteful to take advantage of the situation and gain a point or two in honor, yet I just did one of the most dishonorable things in the game. Since Blizzard will never take away honor for players who grief, I ask the players themselves to resist the blood thirst they feel when they see someone lagging and auto-running into a tree for the last minute, or catching two players who are dueling in the middle of Nagrand and bring each other to a sliver of health. Just take a deep breath and take the high road. Instead of killing, try something else that can instill just as much fear into another player. When you catch someone mining, sap them then appear in front of them and tell them “No!” then shoo them away and stealth again. You have just claimed that area as your own yet shed no blood and that player will think twice before trekking across your property in search for ore. If you like to gank, then gank away because I will never tell you that you are wrong to play the way you want, I just hope you can take a moment to think outside the box and consider another option or two before inserting your blade into the back of the neck another player. I like to think there is something to that old motto of “Honor among thieves.”