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This resistance isn't broadcast, but it could have webbed feet and protruding eyes.

It also might feature a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.

Whilst rallies opposing the leadership persist in US cities, participants are adopting the spirit of a local block party. They've provided salsa lessons, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, as armed law enforcement look on.

Blending comedy and political action – an approach social scientists term "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. Yet it has transformed into a hallmark of US demonstrations in this period, adopted by various groups.

And one symbol has proven to be especially powerful – the frog. It began when video footage of an encounter between a man in a frog suit and ICE agents in the city of Portland, went viral. From there, it proliferated to rallies nationwide.

"There's a lot going on with that small inflatable frog," notes LM Bogad, who teaches at University of California, Davis and an academic who specialises in performance art.

From a Cartoon Frog to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to examine protests and frogs without addressing Pepe, a web comic frog adopted by online communities throughout a previous presidential campaign.

As the character initially spread online, people used it to express certain emotions. Subsequently, it was utilized to endorse a political figure, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure himself, portraying the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in certain internet forums in more extreme scenarios, as a historical dictator. Participants exchanged "rare Pepes" and set up cryptocurrency in his name. His catchphrase, "that feels good", was used a coded signal.

Yet its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has been vocal about his disapproval for its co-option. His creation was meant as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

This character first appeared in an online comic in the mid-2000s – apolitical and notable for a particular bathroom habit. In 'Feels Good Man', which chronicles the creator's attempt to wrest back control of his creation, he stated the character came from his time with companions.

Early in his career, the artist tried sharing his art to new websites, where the community began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. As its popularity grew into fringe areas of online spaces, Mr Furie attempted to distance himself from his creation, including ending its life in a final panel.

But Pepe lived on.

"This demonstrates that creators cannot own icons," states the professor. "They can change and shift and be reworked."

Previously, the popularity of this meme meant that amphibian imagery were largely associated with conservative politics. A transformation occurred recently, when an incident between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland captured global attention.

This incident came just days after an order to deploy the National Guard to the city, which was called "war-ravaged". Protesters began to gather in droves at a specific location, near a federal building.

The situation was tense and an agent deployed irritant at a protester, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the costume.

The protester, Seth Todd, responded with a joke, saying he had tasted "something milder". However, the video spread everywhere.

The frog suit was somewhat typical for Portland, known for its eccentric vibe and activist demonstrations that embrace the ridiculous – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. Its creed is "Keep Portland Weird."

The costume became part of in a lawsuit between the administration and the city, which contended the use of troops was illegal.

While a judge decided that month that the president was within its rights to send personnel, a dissenting judge wrote, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "well-known penchant for wearing chicken suits while voicing opposition."

"It is easy to see this decision, which adopts the government's characterization as a war zone, as merely absurd," she wrote. "However, this ruling goes beyond absurdity."

The action was "permanently" blocked subsequently, and troops have reportedly departed the area.

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

The costume was spotted in many cities at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Frogs appeared – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They were in small towns and global metropolises abroad.

This item was sold out on major websites, and rose in price.

Controlling the Visual Story

What brings the two amphibian symbols – is the dynamic between the humorous, benign cartoon and underlying political significance. This is what "tactical frivolity."

This approach rests on what Mr Bogad terms a "disarming display" – frequently absurd, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" act that calls attention to a message without directly articulating them. This is the goofy costume you wear, or the meme you share.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and a veteran practitioner. He authored a book on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, they use absurdity to express dissent a little bit and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The purpose of this approach is multi-faceted, he explains.

As protesters take on a powerful opposition, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences