Let alone sci-fi authors.
My guess is he genuinely enjoys pulp sci-fi to some extent and thought he could be like that other conservative sci-fi author whose name escapes me that everybody right of Mao loves.
I think it was more that he wanted to be like Hunter S Thompson, hence the S. Tomlinson part of his name.
Dr Thompson at least hung out with Hells Angels, took a kicking from them like a man, was genuinely a political firebrand, obviously famous for his drug and booze intake, played football at College and of course was a famous firearms enthusiast.
He was also not exactly a left wing liberal, while conservative with a small c, he was hardly a republican either. Definitely a libertarian, but a libertarian who sought to hold politicians to account, rather than opt out of the system.
He also literally just got away with sending any old crazy rambling anecdotes about being high and irresponsible to Rolling Stone in lieu of the stories he was supposed to be writing and they published it anyway.
Fatrick wants people to think he is the same kind of crazy counterculture rebel, who is dangerous but gets away with it.
Thompson attacked Johnny Depp with a taser when Depp showed up to hang out and get into character for Fear and Loathing. To my knowledge, Depp just accepted this as part of the job and didn't press charges.
Billy Murray also played Thompson in an obscure flick called "Where the Buffalo Roam", which was based on several of Thompson's writings and experiences.
This did actually lead to Murray being booted off Saturday night live, because he also hung out with Thompson to get into character, and Thompson managed to transform the affable, largely gentle, but confident and commanding Murray into a dangerous drug fueled maniac who pulled guns on people in his dressing room.
This did lead to Ghostbusters and Murray's Hollywood career, so maybe it was fate.
Murray also warned Depp not to let Thompson into his head, when he heard down the grapevine that Depp was going to play him.
Anyway! Digression aside. Fatrick wants to be like Thompson, but is too lazy to actually do all the drugs, failed out of college and with a 1.2 GPA, isn't likely to gain a PHD or Dphil, plus he doesn't have the charisma to get away with being a sports and political journalist and maniac.
So in Fatrick's fat mind, he probably thinks that Sci Fi is like an absurd mirror to society and he can be the Hunter S Thompson of Sci fi.
Except he is fat, boring, can't take his booze, would probably whitey after half a spliff, have heart failure after a dab of speed or coke, and lacks the imagination for acid or peyote to work on him.
Had he met Thompson in reality, Thompson would have shot him and buried him somewhere in the Nevada desert. Then assumed the whole experience was just a bad Acid and Mescaline trip, so would put it out of his mind and forgotten.