Is my logic completely misguided?

Being yourself requires that you know who you are and a lot of people don't. It also requires that you accept and be comfortable with who you are and a lot of people can't. Sometimes wearing a mask is the most effective way to survive in the situation in which you find yourself, we can't always be fortunate enough to be accepted as who we are, consider the fate of the Jews in WW2 and of the African slaves in the U.S. and elsewhere. Many gays stay in the closet for the same reason. It would be nice if we could all take off our masks and live openly, but that is not the world in which we live. It's sad, and we should all work to change it, but it's a fact of life at this time.