I'd be totally OK with it. One thing that did wierd me out a little was when I got on the subway, and another blind person was on the same subway a little way down, and some random sighted person...took it upon themselves to introduce us! Even worse, we totally reenforced the "all blind people must know each other" stereotype, because we actually did already know each other. Even worse than that, if possible, we were both going to the same stop! For totally unrelated reasons, but I'm sure every single other person on the train thought we were two blind people doing blindness related things together. Sigh.

Seriously though, I do listen to music sometimes in public, and even when I'm not listening to music or anything, I just ignore all shouts of "Hey you!" and similar, to save myself the awkwardness of answering when I wasn't the one addressed. So as strange as it might feel, the only way you're going to get me to answer is with a touch on the arm. Otherwise, even if I'm 50 percent sure you're talking to me, I'm probably going to ignore you...just in case you're not.

I'm an introvert, meaning I'm not too comfortable talking to strangers, but if someone approached me like that I think it would lead to a conversation as there would be an actual subject to talk about. You'd probably have to signal that you were talking to me somehow, though, because I can't see if you're looking at me when you talk and I need that kind of confirmation.

I don't listen to music in public places; I need my hearing focused on my surroundings.

Hey there! I also have RP and can somewhat understand what you are going through: most of the visually impaired community around me are elderly persons and I'm still somewhat young and haven't found a lot of common ground in the local visual impairment groups. There is a small group of younger people that meet the next town over but getting there can be problematic.

Anyway, I personally wouldn't be upset if someone came up to me while I have my white cane out (was just at a weekend long festival and with drunk people it happened almost constantly!) but it can get weird if the person approaching me has little to say other than pointing out that I'm visually impaired. If you encounter a visually impaired person and think you might have something in common or something interesting to talk about (and you don't get the impression that you'd be bothering them: often times I put in ear buds to avoid people talking to me for example), go for it! Blind people are people too and people are social creatures. I personally love meeting new people.

Apart from that, I don't know how far along your visual degeneration is or if you've sought out someone to help you get and learn to use a white cane, but I did just that a couple years ago and it was great! Well it's still scary/embarrassing to use my white cane but it's helped a bunch in crowded and dark places. As an added bonus, my orientation and mobility instructor took it upon herself to arrange a meeting between myself and 4-5 other visually impaired people in my area who are all between the ages of 23 and 32. Now we meet about once a month for drinks to see how everyone is doing.

I'm rambling but: TL:DR - If you have more to say than just "I noticed you're a blind guy or gal" and are fairly sure you wouldn't be bothering them, normal people meeting rules should apply! Go meet that lady or gentleman! Also: while I'm sure it's not always the case, an O&M instructor could be a resource for you meeting visually impaired people around your age from your area.

Cheers!

I wonder if there is a place near you -- an organization that helps people who are blind, a reading service, a guide dog school, etc. -- where you could volunteer and talk to people instead of trying to meet them randomly on the street. I think you would get more out of it, and so would they!

I'm pretty close to one person who is blind. To be honest, I don't think she would react very well to that approach. She generally doesn't seek out other blind people and connect with them solely on the basis of their blindness. I think she would be totally willing to talk about her disability and yours, but only in the context of an actual friendship.

I think during your transition you'll want and benefit from meeting blind folks and learning skills and stories from them. But I'm guessing that a lot of blind folks don't want to be defined by their disability, even though it's an essential attribute of their lives.

I think if you meet a blind person that is perfectly fine to introduce yourself, but you might want to focus on the person more than the disability. If you put in the effort to get to know someone, then you may sort of earn the right and trust to discuss their experience with disability.

But I have to say, I'm answering on behalf of someone else, and this is not my direct, lived experience. I'm mainly relating what has been told to me, and I hope I'm doing justice to my friend's experience. And your experience may be quite different, of course.