Blindness is viewed in almost the opposite light. To admit that blindness was more than a disability, that it was a cultural characteristic of which we could be proud, would be like finally admitting that we are not the pitiful creatures that the media and some of society usually portray. To call us a culture would be like recognizing our uniqueness without belittling it. I posit that the we are. Many of us use a form of written communication that differs from the mainstream.
Braille bears no visual resemblance to the written alphabet.
Only a person trained to read Braille can do so, and it is a form of reading and writing unique to the blind. The need to do this is unique to the visually impaired. Like some signing deaf people need an aural interpreter, those of us not around our chosen written medium need someone as a print interpreter. We may share the same language as the majority, but the way in which we access printed material differs markedly. We share linguistic traits unique to the blind.