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The resistance isn't broadcast, though it may feature amphibious toes and large eyes.

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

While demonstrations against the government continue in American cities, protesters have embraced the spirit of a neighborhood dress-up party. They have taught dance instruction, distributed treats, and ridden unicycles, while police look on.

Mixing humour and politics – a tactic social scientists term "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. But it has become a hallmark of protests in the United States in this period, used by both left and right.

A specific icon has proven to be particularly salient – the frog. It started after video footage of an encounter between an individual in a frog suit and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, became an internet sensation. And it has since spread to demonstrations nationwide.

"There is much at play with that small inflatable frog," notes an expert, who teaches at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who focuses on creative activism.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's hard to examine protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, a cartoon character embraced by far-right groups during a previous presidential campaign.

When the meme gained popularity online, people used it to signal specific feelings. Later, its use evolved to endorse a candidate, including one notable meme shared by the candidate himself, portraying Pepe with a signature suit and hair.

The frog was also portrayed in digital spaces in more extreme scenarios, as a historical dictator. Participants exchanged "rare Pepes" and set up digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was deployed a coded signal.

Yet Pepe didn't start out so controversial.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has expressed about his unhappiness for its appropriation. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in this artist's universe.

The frog debuted in comic strips in the mid-2000s – non-political and notable for a particular bathroom habit. A film, which documents the creator's attempt to reclaim ownership of his creation, he said the character came from his life with companions.

As he started out, the artist experimented with sharing his art to the nascent social web, where the community began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. When the meme proliferated into fringe areas of the internet, Mr Furie sought to reject the frog, even killing him off in a comic strip.

Yet the frog persisted.

"It proves the lack of control over imagery," states Prof Bogad. "They transform and be repurposed."

Previously, the popularity of Pepe resulted in frogs were largely associated with the right. But that changed on a day in October, when a viral moment between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland went viral.

The moment came just days after a directive to deploy the National Guard to the city, which was called "a warzone". Demonstrators began to assemble in large numbers on a single block, near an ICE office.

The situation was tense and a officer sprayed pepper spray at the individual, directing it into the opening of the costume.

Seth Todd, Seth Todd, reacted humorously, stating he had tasted "spicier tamales". Yet the footage spread everywhere.

The costume fit right in for Portland, known for its quirky culture and activist demonstrations that revel in the absurd – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Embrace the Strange."

The costume was also referenced in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and Portland, which claimed the deployment was illegal.

Although the court ruled that month that the administration was within its rights to send personnel, one judge dissented, referencing in her ruling demonstrators' "known tendency for donning inflatable costumes while voicing their disagreement."

"Observers may be tempted this decision, which accepts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge opined. "But today's decision goes beyond absurdity."

The order was halted by courts soon after, and troops have reportedly departed the city.

Yet already, the amphibian costume had become a powerful protest icon for the left.

The inflatable suit was spotted across the country at anti-authoritarian protests last autumn. Frogs appeared – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in small towns and big international cities like Tokyo and London.

The frog costume was backordered on online retailers, and became more expensive.

Controlling the Narrative

The link between the two amphibian symbols – is the interplay between the humorous, benign cartoon and underlying political significance. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The tactic is based on what Mr Bogad terms the "irresistible image" – frequently absurd, it acts as a "disarming and charming" display that highlights your ideas without obviously explaining them. This is the unusual prop used, or the symbol you share.

Mr Bogad is both an expert in the subject and someone who uses these tactics. He's written a book on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"You could go back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to speak the truth a little bit and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The purpose of this approach is multi-faceted, Mr Bogad says.

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