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This resistance won't be televised, yet it might possess webbed feet and bulging eyes.

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

While demonstrations against the government continue in US cities, participants are adopting the spirit of a neighborhood dress-up party. They have taught salsa lessons, handed out treats, and performed on unicycles, while armed law enforcement observe.

Combining comedy and political action – a strategy experts refer to as "tactical frivolity" – has historical precedent. But it has become a signature characteristic of American protest in recent years, adopted by all sides of the political spectrum.

One particular emblem has emerged as notably significant – the frog. It began after recordings of a confrontation between an individual in an amphibian costume and federal officers in Portland, Oregon, went viral. And it has since spread to rallies throughout the United States.

"A great deal going on with that humble inflatable frog," notes an expert, a professor at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who focuses on creative activism.

From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's challenging to talk about demonstrations and amphibians without addressing Pepe, a cartoon character adopted by online communities throughout a previous presidential campaign.

As the meme gained popularity on the internet, people used it to signal specific feelings. Afterwards, it was utilized to show support for a political figure, including one notable meme retweeted by the candidate personally, depicting the frog with a signature suit and hair.

Images also circulated in certain internet forums in more extreme scenarios, as a hate group member. Users exchanged "rare Pepes" and established cryptocurrency in his name. Its famous line, "that feels good", was used an inside joke.

However its beginnings were not this divisive.

The artist behind it, artist Matt Furie, has been vocal about his disapproval for its appropriation. The character was intended as simply an apolitical figure in his comic world.

This character first appeared in an online comic in the mid-2000s – apolitical and notable for a quirky behavior. A film, which documents the creator's attempt to take back of his work, he said the character came from his life with friends and roommates.

Early in his career, Mr Furie experimented with uploading his work to early internet platforms, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As Pepe spread into the more extreme corners of the internet, Mr Furie tried to disavow the frog, even killing him off in a comic strip.

Yet the frog persisted.

"This demonstrates the lack of control over icons," states Prof Bogad. "They can change and shift and be reworked."

For a long time, the notoriety of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery were predominantly linked to conservative politics. But that changed recently, when a viral moment between an activist dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon captured global attention.

The event came just days after a decision to deploy the National Guard to the city, which was described as "war-ravaged". Protesters began to assemble in large numbers outside a facility, near an immigration enforcement facility.

Tensions were high and a officer deployed pepper spray at the individual, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the puffy frog costume.

The protester, Seth Todd, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "something milder". Yet the footage spread everywhere.

Mr Todd's attire was not too unusual for Portland, renowned for its quirky culture and left-wing protests that revel in the unusual – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. Its creed is "Keep Portland Weird."

This symbol even played a role in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and Portland, which argued the deployment was illegal.

While a ruling was issued in October that the president was within its rights to send personnel, a dissenting judge wrote, noting in her opinion the protesters' "propensity for donning inflatable costumes while voicing their disagreement."

"Observers may be tempted the court's opinion, which adopts the government's characterization as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," Judge Susan Graber opined. "However, this ruling has serious implications."

The action was stopped legally soon after, and personnel withdrew from the area.

However, by that time, the frog was now a powerful protest icon for the left.

The costume was spotted nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests last autumn. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in small towns and big international cities abroad.

The inflatable suit was in high demand on online retailers, and became more expensive.

Mastering the Visual Story

What brings Pepe and the protest frog – is the relationship between the silly, innocent image and underlying political significance. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The tactic relies on what the professor calls a "disarming display" – often silly, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" act that draws focus to your ideas without obviously explaining them. This is the goofy costume used, or the meme circulated.

Mr Bogad is an analyst on this topic and an experienced participant. He authored a text called 'Tactical Performance', and led seminars around the world.

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

The theory of this approach is three-fold, Mr Bogad says.

As protesters confront authority, humorous attire {takes control of|seizes|influences