Sister Betty, the patriots and loyalists analogy is on target. When we combine it with Noonan’s protected and unprotected, we have a quadrilateral that goes:
Patriot protected:
Patriot unprotected
Loyalist protected
Loyalist unprotected
There were similar types in the Revolution
Patriot Protected: The Washington, Jefferson group of established landowners of means who nonetheless were still part of the upper crust of that society. This is the logical place to put Donald Trump. His wealth has him in a protected position, but he is an American through and through.
Patriot Unprotected: During the Revolution, these would have been the people who fought the revolution, whose families supported, and whose substance was not great, but whose weapons, blood, and effort were the tipping point in that long slog to freedom. This is us. We are the foot soldiers, the middle classes, the lower classes.
Loyalist Protected: These were either the Tories who left or the landed who helped fight the war on the side of the British. Examples would be Arnold and Tarleton. These were gentry. Their motivation was protection of their status and position, AND a new position elsewhere if this didn’t quite work out for them.
Loyalist Unprotected: During the revolution there were a sizeable number of adherents to the crown who simply didn’t participate. These lower and middle class folk stood for the king, and they actually were the great majority. I understand that support for the Revolution really was at only about 25% of the population. These were the folk who simply kept their mouths shut and endured what the crown threw at them. Most also did not fight for the crown, either. I assume they just wanted to live their lives and be left alone. That is why they parallel so easily what we call low info or uninvolved Americans. They are shocked — simply shocked — that genitals would be a joke in what is to be a proper political campaign. However, each of them probably makes such references daily. “He’s a real nowhere man, living in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody.” But they are nice neighbors and they keep their grass cut.
Thank you ever so much for writing!