The dumbass did ask for it, and not in the metaphorical sense. He actually said, "smack me" twice and then slapped his own face, indicating where to hit him. The guy who hit him with the can could also argue there was a reasonable threat to his physical safety, given the taunting and racial epithets being slung at him. It would be interesting to see how this would play out in court. (Although the guy in question was black, so I'm pretty sure American law enforcement guidelines require him to be shot first and questioned later.)
The drunk did initiate the assault. Even if you discount the verbal assault, the victim dropped the can and reached down to pick it up. The drunk then kicked at the can, dude's hand, very near dude's face. Yea, that's the way I would have reacted too.
Might and Magic has trained me not to expect status effects to work on anything I actually need them to work on, anyway. Passive effects OTOH . . .