This statement on it's own is one of the dumbest you can make. Plenty of elders are morons, why should I respect someone just because they've been a moron for longer than the next guy?
Watering respect down to a single number is foolish. So many things go into determining if I respect someone, and how much I respect them.
What if that 36 year old player has only played 300 NHL games and has a history of being a dirty player? Doesn't matter, he was born first and so he has 36 respect points. The 28 year old with 700 games played that doesn't board players from behind simply doesn't compare, he only has 28 respect points.