Worth the risk?

Those involved in the BDSM community have all heard the horror stories. People losing their jobs and family when it comes out they're involved in kink activities. It seems obvious, to the public, that those who engage in either the physical, or mental aspects, of BDSM have control and/or anger issues while not having ethical standards. I mean, what kind of a person beats someone else for fun right?
For anyone wondering, tops who flog their bottom partner are not walking around all day suppressing the urge to reach out and attack the person next to them on the street. No more than I walk around hoping the guy across from me on the light rail will start slapping me. It's about comfort zones, trust, and consent. Always about consent.
BDSM isn't the only place this is true. For example, sex. I enjoy sex, but I don't walk around hoping a random stranger jumps me. (Yea, I know some people have that fantasy.) The difference between sex and rape is consent. The mindset of a rapist is very different than that of a consensual partner. Just like there's a huge difference in the mind of a healthy top and the violent sociopath people see them as.
Even in this day and age people involved in BDSM often hide their identities and take on kink names. It's such a tradition, even those who aren't trying to hide use a kink name. (Besides, it's kind of fun to rename yourself.) Also you never to go up to someone you saw at a kink gathering and acknowledge them in a vanilla (non kink) setting, unless previously agreed it would be comfortable for both people, or tag them in pictures you took at kink events. This is termed outing.

With all this fear of being outed, why would anyone engage in BDSM activity? What makes it worth the risk?

It is, of course, a complicated answer of weighing and balancing life for each person. Everyone should come to their own conclusions at no judgement from anyone else.
To focus on the need though, BDSM activities (again HUGE umbrella term) come in different strengths. Some men may prefer to be restrained during sex, but don't require it to enjoy the sexual act. Some women may be a dominant personality who like to make decisions, but they don't mind compromising with their spouse.
Then there are those who need to be tied up in order to be sexually fulfilled, or who become frustrated when they are not the one in charge of decisions in their home. It's how we function. It's how we're wired. Nature vs Nurture is a different discussion. However we got here, we're here now.
I tried the vanilla route in relationships. It. Does. Not. Work. Period. I am not at all happy in an equal authority romantic relationship. It would take more than a paragraph to explain all the reasons why, but the bottom line is I do not feel myself, I do not feel fulfilled, I am not happy. If you go a long period of time without being yourself, you find the value of happiness living your true self can bring is worth more than almost anything else.
(I'm not talking about depression, if you suffer from depression please contact a qualified professional. You do not have to feel this way.)
It's the "almost" that makes life messy. If my husband decided tomorrow we would be in a vanilla relationship would I end up having to leave him? I hope not. We would probably have to compromise with me getting my kink need met elsewhere as it's not fair of me to ask him to be someone he's not either. (Keep in mind, BDSM does not necessarily include sex.)
These are the questions that people struggle with every day. Just something to keep in mind the next time you see a newspaper article about a masochist, or it turns out your pharmacist is a dominatrix.