Phallosopher

Now this part, I agree with. Should you have a neutral or noticeably receptive audience, I think it is our responsibility of academicians to show people how our discipline can enrich their lives even if they do not choose to go as far beneath its surface or spend as long there in their exploration as we do.
As for gleaning the other person's intentions, I rely more on intuition than generalization / political correctness there. Some people are dicks. Some aren't. Over a lifetime so far exceeding two or three decades for most of us on this forum... I think we all have developed the ability to reliably distinguish one from the other and respond in accordance with our own moral codes.
Humor is another occasionally useful response for which I have a recent anecdote. I'm currently dating the daughter of a medical doctor. When he started that conversation in a receptive way but also in the context of the "meet the parents" and get judged situation... I told him, "I'm studying to become a doctor as well actually, of philosophy. I'm hoping to help cure people of feeling ignorant, illogical, immoral, and a few rarer ailments." He laughed his ass off, patted me on the shoulder, and told her... "I like this guy, I like him."

What do you mean here by "regular" loans? Are you talking about loans other than student loans?

This past season I got most of my recommendations from mathematicians actually. Philosophers study the underlying principles of things, so let's hope they think about what the underlying principles of being good at studying philosophy are. My recommenders (I was permitted to read one of the letters and actively encouraged to read and comment on another) were able to write about my logical reasoning skills, divergent thinking capabilities, and how much I am "at home in the realm of the abstract". So in my experience, recommendations are not restricted to "did well in my philosophy course" or the like. Can you get a recommendation from each of them? Most programs ask for 3 letters. I would think that would be best, as the non-philosophy professors can do what I described as valuable above, and the philosophy professors can give the more straightforward evidence that you will likely continue to excel in philosophy coursework and make their investment in your candidacy worthwhile.
Hopefully that helps even if it's a bit of "if I were on an admissions committee, then..."