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This resistance won't be broadcast, but it could have amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve the horn of a unicorn or the plumage of a chicken.

As demonstrations opposing the leadership carry on in American cities, participants are utilizing the spirit of a community costume parade. They've provided dance instruction, given away snacks, and performed on unicycles, while officers look on.

Combining comedy and politics – a strategy researchers refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a signature characteristic of American protest in this period, adopted by both left and right.

One particular emblem has emerged as especially powerful – the frog. It began after video footage of an encounter between an individual in an inflatable frog and immigration enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon, became an internet sensation. From there, it proliferated to protests across the country.

"A great deal going on with that humble frog costume," states an expert, a professor at University of California, Davis and an academic who specialises in creative activism.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to the Streets of Portland

It's challenging to talk about demonstrations and amphibians without talking about Pepe, a cartoon character adopted by online communities throughout a political race.

When the character first took off on the internet, people used it to signal specific feelings. Afterwards, it was deployed to express backing for a candidate, including a particular image retweeted by that figure personally, showing Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Pepe was also depicted in certain internet forums in darker contexts, portrayed as a hate group member. Participants traded "rare Pepes" and set up cryptocurrency using its likeness. Its famous line, "that feels good", was deployed a shared phrase.

However its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Its creator, artist Matt Furie, has expressed about his disapproval for how the image has been used. His creation was meant as simply an apolitical figure in this artist's universe.

Pepe debuted in an online comic in 2005 – non-political and notable for a quirky behavior. In a documentary, which documents Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his work, he said the character came from his life with friends and roommates.

Early in his career, the artist experimented with uploading his work to early internet platforms, where the community began to copy, alter, and reinterpret the frog. As its popularity grew into darker parts of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, including ending its life in a comic strip.

However, its legacy continued.

"It proves that creators cannot own symbols," says the professor. "They can change and shift and be reworked."

Until recently, the notoriety of this meme resulted in amphibian imagery were largely associated with the right. But that changed on a day in October, when a confrontation between a protestor dressed in an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland spread rapidly online.

This incident came just days after an order to deploy military personnel to Portland, which was called "war-ravaged". Demonstrators began to gather in droves at a specific location, near an ICE office.

The situation was tense and an agent deployed a chemical agent at a protester, directing it into the ventilation of the costume.

Seth Todd, the man in the costume, quipped, saying it tasted like "something milder". Yet the footage spread everywhere.

Mr Todd's attire fit right in for Portland, famous for its quirky culture and activist demonstrations that delight in the ridiculous – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Keep Portland Weird."

This symbol even played a role in a lawsuit between the administration and Portland, which claimed the use of troops was unlawful.

While a judge decided in October that the administration had the right to send personnel, a minority opinion disagreed, referencing in her ruling demonstrators' "propensity for wearing chicken suits when expressing their disagreement."

"Some might view the majority's ruling, which accepts the government's characterization as a war zone, as merely absurd," she stated. "But today's decision has serious implications."

The order was stopped legally soon after, and troops withdrew from the city.

But by then, the amphibian costume was now a potent protest icon for the left.

The costume was seen in many cities at No Kings protests recently. Frogs appeared – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in small towns and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The inflatable suit was backordered on major websites, and rose in price.

Mastering the Optics

What brings the two amphibian symbols – is the relationship between the humorous, benign cartoon and a deeper political meaning. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The strategy rests on what Mr Bogad terms the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" display that calls attention to a cause without needing explicitly stating them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol circulated.

The professor is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He authored a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to express dissent a little bit and still have plausible deniability."

The idea of such tactics is multi-faceted, Mr Bogad explains.

When activists take on a powerful opposition, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences