"I never viewed deafness as not understanding anyone - “deafness” is a clinical concept, a -‘ness’; it implies absence, a lack of something, therefore I am inferior. Its logic is so devastating, it is almost too easy to fall for it, as many people have. If the world is examined closely enough, we will find it is not true. There are a thousand and one possibilities and ways of being. I am culturally Deaf, wherein I gain my identity and a unique window to the world"
I don't want to be offensive, but deafness is a lack of one of the senses. I appreciate and applaud the vibrant culture the Deaf community created around ASL (and the corresponding deaf languages in other countries) and understand part of this is a coping mechanism. Yet, I have met and read many Deaf culture enthusiasts that argue (almost) that being Deaf is somewhat superior to our "normal" hearing culture, so much so that some Deaf parents wish their children are born deaf too.
Would you consider blindness to be similar? I haven't heard of a Blind culture, but maybe it exists.