Is it okay to NEVER come out?

[Pyromancer]

It  seems to me that people who live in countries where being gay is illegal, where it puts them at risk of arrest or physical attack, have very good reasons for staying in the closet.  I think it's hard for many of us to imagine how truly terrifying these situations can be.  I'm not a crusader, I'm not very brave...I don't think I could put my freedom, maybe even my life, at risk that way.  

In the US, where we enjoy so many freedoms, we talk about the psychological damage  staying closeted can do.  But in a lot of these places, LGBT people face a hell of a lot worse .  I think that being in the closet is preferable to being shunned, arrested, flogged, stoned or killed.  I've heard horrific stories from a friend who was deployed to the Middle East several times.  

I would never judge anyone, anywhere, for staying closeted.  It's not for me to say what's right for someone else.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to be out since my early teens when I first realized my orientation.  It's really sad that all of us don't have the same privilege