What do you call this type of person....?

Question

...the closest I can think of is masochist but I don't quite think it fits the bill. I'm looking for a word to describe someone who will put themselves in a potentially hostile situation with scant regard for their own wellbeing, and not neccessarily for a good cause- some one who will get in to a fight with a dozen other people and simply not care, or not even register, they don't stand a chance.

What's the word? something-ist, maybe?

And please don't just say psycho or maniac. Thanks!

Answer 1

Cavalier, mercenary, foolhardy, reckless, numb, removed, emotionless, apathetic, devil may care, suicidal, unrealistic, without hope, empty, carrying a death wish...

Answer 2

Apathetic. Apathy.

Apathy is a psychological term for a state of indifference — where an individual is unresponsive or "indifferent" to aspects of emotional, social, or physical life. Clinical apathy is considered to be at an elevated level, while a moderate level might be considered depression, and an extreme level could be diagnosed as a dissociative disorder. The physical aspect of apathy associated with physical deterioration, muscle loss, and lack of energy is called lethargy — which has many pathological causes as well.

Apathy can be object-specific — toward a person, activity or environment. It is a common reaction to stress where it manifests as "learned helplessness" and is commonly associated with depression. It can also reflect a non-pathological lack of interest in things one does not consider important.

Certain drugs are known to cause symptoms associated with or leading to apathy.

Apathy etymologically derives from the Greek απάθεια (apatheia), a term used by the Stoic to signify indifference for what one is not responsible (that is, according to their philosophy, all things exterior, one being only responsible of his representations and judgments). The concept was then reappropriated by Christians, who adopted the term to express a contempt of all earthly concerns, a state of mortification, as the gospel prescribes. Thus, the word has been used since then among more devout writers. Clemens Alexandrinus, in particular, brought the term exceedingly in vogue, thinking hereby to draw the philosophers to Christianity, who aspired after such a sublime pitch of virtue.

The concept of apathy became more sympathetically accepted in popular culture during the First World War, in which the appalling conditions of the Western Front led to apathy and shellshock amongst millions of soldiers.

Answer 3

A fool.
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I did some research. Here's what I came up with:

Disinhibition is a neurological process which results in the production of a behaviour. There are always a great number of ways an animal or individual could behave. Most of these options will be inhibited at any one time, while one particuarly salient one should ordinarily be disinhibited. Parkinson's disease is often seen as a failure of disinhibition, which leads to a patient being unable to initiate desired actions.

Outside the neurological context, disinhibition can mean:

1. Loss of inhibition, as through the influence of external stimuli such as drugs or alcohol, or as a result of brain damage.
2. Unrestrained behavior resulting from a lessening or loss of inhibitions or a disregard of cultural constraints.

Disinhibition is now being mentioned with some regularity in news articles as an explanation for how youth communicate differently when using the media of instant messaging, text messaging, and posting content on social networking sites. Because technology often provides 1) a perceived buffer from regular consequences and 2) a real buffer from traditional social cues, people will say and do things through technology that they would not do face-to-face. Youth who do not have any real understanding of the dangers or consequences of certain behavior will often talk openly about sexual issues or post provocative pictures online. While this may sometimes reflect their actual behavior, it is believed that many youth are being provocative in order to gain attention--not realizing the danger of some of their behaviors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinhibition

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There is also this article, and while it is about disinhibited people in cyberspace, I thought some of the ideas related to your subject:

The Online Disinhibition Effect
You Don't Know Me (dissociative anonymity)
You Can't See Me (invisibility)
See You Later (asynchronicity)
It's All in My Head (solipsistic introjection)
It's Just a Game (dissociative imagination)
We're Equals (minimizing authority))
Personality Variables
True Self?
Self Constellations Across Media
Altering Self Boundary

For the complete article:
http://www.rider.edu/suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html

Answer 4

There's an old police term. Bottle covey. He's the one who when things get dull in a fight, bites(or breaks) the end off a bottle and uses that. Personally I think they're the direct descendants of the berserkers(as someone else mentioned) and react mindlessly to adrenalin in their system. The standard treatment was knock him out as fast as possible. They're usually quite nice once they've come to their senses. It's just hypersensitivity to their own adrenalin.

Answer 5

Antagonist is as good word, as any, maybe if you add an adjective like, 'enthusiastic' or 'wilful', it will convey the sense of someone with a strong desire to get into a fight, and with no regard for either the reason for the fight, or the outcome, so he could be a 'wilful antagonist'.
Another good word is 'pugnacious', attach this to protagonist, and you are looking at someone who is not only constantly looking to be at the centre of things, but is also constantly looking for trouble. So there is my other suggestion, 'pugnacious protagonist', and that one scans nicely too.

Answer 6

Loser is the closest I can think of. Some people don't seem to grasp that there are consequences to their actions .e.g they spend all their money and get into debt. You help them out, give them a lecture on budgeting their income and find out they have gone straight back to the money lender to pay for a holiday/car/TV whatever that they cannot afford and could have done without until they had built up some savings.
They never seem to learn.

Answer 7

High roller. He thinks that he is going to win because it's him and he's the hero of all his own fantasies.
Out of touch, dreamer, fantasist, narcissist.
In the 30's there was a film called "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" about this sort of person, who dreams so much that they end up believing their own dreams and thinking they're invincible.

Answer 8

exhibitionist or maybe an

extravert:

[A term introduced by the psychologist Carl Jung to describe a person whose motives and actions are directed outward. Extroverts are more prone to action than contemplation, make friends readily, adjust easily to social situations, and generally show warm interest in their surroundings.]

Answer 9

Antagonist

Answer 10

Cavalier

Answer 11

An A-hole. Alpha male. Isnecure. Wannabe UFC ( Ultimate fighter)
I knew a guy like this once. Take my advice. Gradually and carefully, slip away from this guy.