I stirred things up lately suggesting Buster Posey is overrated. My opinion until he proves me wrong. I’m entitled to my opinion. You’re entitled to disagree, to call me uninformed or baseball ignorant or unappreciative of true greatness. That’s what this blog is all about — a give-and-take of passionate ideas. That’s what I did as a columnist, stimulated passionate conversation. It’s what a columnist must do.

It saddens me — disgusts me — that some readers who disagreed with my take on Posey attacked me personally because of my age — 71. This is called an ad hominen argument and it’s the lowest form of arguing. You go ad hominen when you don’t have good points to argue. So you attack the person.

I am used to ad hominem arguments. Believe me. They don’t hurt my feelings. Someone who goes ad hominen is beneath me and should be beneath you.

But I want to discuss one ad hominem form. The old-age argument. People, outraged with my take on Posey said I should take a nap, said I am a crankly old man. That sort of junk. For starters, I’ve been exactly like this my whole career. Unless readers have been hiding under a rock they should know that. My stance has nothing to do with age. If anything I’m more mellow now.

It is clear readers don’t go after a writer’s race, religion — that sort of stuff. Age is the same thing — should be. Criticizing my age is criticizing all senior citizens. It is a prejudice. Some silly writer in the Chron recently criticized Dianne Feinstein for being old. Where did the Chron get this guy? Criticism based on age is moronic, crude and rude. It is like calling someone a dirty Jew or using the N-word. Anyone who put me down because I’m old — you know who you are — should be ashamed. You just dissed your parents and grandparents.

Aside from that, please feel free to disagree with me. Keep it coming.

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