I can’t help but agree with your thoughts and comments. I think you describe it very well.
In my thinking, The overriding issue is timing and rule of law.
Rule of law first:. When the SHTF, the left will turn on each other and they will be the ones violently protesting. Conservatives, for right or wrong, will follow the the law and basically take it up the ass. I’d predict a good 2/3 of conservatives fit this model. They are the ones that will give in to limits on 2a and 1a and 4a and others all because of the morality of following the rule of law. Most if not all of the looting and burning and protesting will be from the left against the government, regardless of which party controls the government.
Timing: the slow burn of inflation and gas shortages and maybe even some food shortages will not trigger mass protesters; just isolated and in democrats cesspools. We saw this in the 70’s with double digit inflation, tight money, fuel and food shortages, and you didn’t see the mass riots. The generations have changed from then to now so It may be different. If we see the protest it will again, be the left/communists. If it is indeed a slow burn into the depth, then it will be at least 10 years or more. Most empires fade over a long period of time. personally, I think this will happen to the US. Fade over time with a series of events that cause riots, etc but nothing dystopian.
Unless.. there is some type of trigger event and it would be massive. Then all bets are off. No idea what that could be. And it could be something fairly innocuous too but big enough to light the short fuse.
And speaking of trigger events, you know the best way to get the country united and out of a “depression”? War. I think that is more likely in the very near future.