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This protest movement isn't broadcast, though it may feature webbed feet and bulging eyes.

Additionally, it could include a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

As protests opposing the leadership continue in US cities, participants are utilizing the vibe of a community costume parade. They've provided dance instruction, handed out snacks, and ridden unicycles, while armed law enforcement observe.

Blending humour and politics – a tactic social scientists call "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. But it has become a defining feature of US demonstrations in this period, used by both left and right.

One particular emblem has proven to be particularly salient – the frog. It originated after recordings of an encounter between a man in an amphibian costume and federal officers in the city of Portland, spread online. From there, it proliferated to rallies across the country.

"There is much happening with that humble inflatable frog," notes a professor, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in performance art.

The Path From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It is difficult to discuss protests and frogs without mentioning Pepe, a cartoon character adopted by extremist movements during a previous presidential campaign.

Initially, when this image first took off on the internet, its purpose was to convey specific feelings. Afterwards, it was deployed to endorse a candidate, even a particular image endorsed by that figure personally, depicting Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Pepe was also depicted in digital spaces in offensive ways, portrayed as a historical dictator. Online conservatives traded "unique frog images" and set up digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "that feels good", was deployed a shared phrase.

Yet Pepe didn't start out this divisive.

The artist behind it, artist Matt Furie, has expressed about his disapproval for its appropriation. The character was intended as simply a relaxed amphibian in this artist's universe.

Pepe debuted in comic strips in the mid-2000s – non-political and famous for a particular bathroom habit. In 'Feels Good Man', which documents the creator's attempt to take back of his work, he stated the character was inspired by his experiences with companions.

Early in his career, Mr Furie tried sharing his art to early internet platforms, where people online began to copy, alter, and reinterpret his character. When the meme proliferated into fringe areas of the internet, the creator sought to reject the frog, even killing him off in a final panel.

But Pepe lived on.

"This demonstrates that we don't control icons," explains the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be reworked."

Until recently, the association of this meme meant that amphibian imagery were largely associated with the right. This shifted recently, when an incident between an activist wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland, Oregon captured global attention.

The moment occurred shortly after an order to deploy military personnel to Portland, which was described as "a warzone". Protesters began to gather in droves outside a facility, near an immigration enforcement facility.

Tensions were high and an agent sprayed a chemical agent at the individual, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the puffy frog costume.

The individual, the man in the costume, reacted humorously, saying it tasted like "something milder". But the incident went viral.

The costume fit right in for the city, famous for its unconventional spirit and left-wing protests that revel in the unusual – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Keep Portland Weird."

The frog even played a role in subsequent court proceedings between the administration and Portland, which claimed the use of troops was unlawful.

Although the court ruled in October that the administration had the right to deploy troops, a minority opinion disagreed, noting in her opinion the protesters' "well-known penchant for wearing chicken suits when expressing their disagreement."

"It is easy to see the majority's ruling, which adopts the government's characterization as a war zone, as merely absurd," she opined. "However, this ruling is not merely absurd."

The deployment was "permanently" blocked subsequently, and troops are said to have left the city.

Yet already, the frog had transformed into a significant anti-administration symbol for the left.

The inflatable suit was seen across the country at anti-authoritarian protests last autumn. Amphibian costumes were present – along with other creatures – in major US cities. They were in rural communities and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

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

Controlling 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."

This approach rests on what the professor calls a "disarming display" – frequently absurd, it acts as a "disarming and charming" performance that calls attention to a cause without directly articulating them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol you share.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"You could go back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to express dissent indirectly and still have plausible deniability."

The theory of this approach is multi-faceted, he says.

As activists take on the state, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences