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This resistance won't be broadcast, but it could have webbed feet and large eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.

While rallies opposing the leadership persist in American cities, participants have embraced the energy of a community costume parade. They have taught salsa lessons, distributed treats, and ridden unicycles, as police observe.

Blending levity and politics – a strategy social scientists refer to as "tactical frivolity" – has historical precedent. Yet it has transformed into a defining feature of American protest in the current era, embraced by all sides of the political spectrum.

A specific icon has proven to be especially powerful – the frog. It started after recordings of a confrontation between a protester in a frog suit and federal officers in Portland, Oregon, became an internet sensation. And it has since spread to rallies nationwide.

"A great deal happening with that little frog costume," states a professor, who teaches at University of California, Davis and an academic who studies creative activism.

From the Pepe Meme to the Streets of Portland

It's challenging to talk about protests and frogs without mentioning Pepe, an illustrated figure co-opted by extremist movements throughout a political race.

As this image gained popularity online, it was used to convey specific feelings. Afterwards, it was deployed to express backing for a political figure, even a particular image endorsed by the candidate himself, portraying the frog with a signature suit and hair.

The frog was also portrayed in digital spaces in darker contexts, as a hate group member. Users exchanged "unique frog images" and established cryptocurrency in his name. His catchphrase, "that feels good", became an inside joke.

However its beginnings were not so controversial.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has been vocal about his distaste for how the image has been used. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

Pepe first appeared in comic strips in the mid-2000s – non-political and best known for a quirky behavior. A film, which chronicles Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his creation, he stated the character came from his experiences with friends and roommates.

As he started out, Mr Furie tried sharing his art to new websites, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. When the meme proliferated into the more extreme corners of the internet, the creator tried to disavow his creation, including ending its life in a comic strip.

But Pepe lived on.

"It proves that we don't control icons," explains the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the notoriety of this meme meant that frogs became a symbol for the right. But that changed recently, when a confrontation between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland went viral.

The event came just days after an order to send military personnel to the city, which was called "a warzone". Activists began to gather in droves at a specific location, just outside of a federal building.

Tensions were high and an agent used a chemical agent at the individual, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the inflatable suit.

The individual, Seth Todd, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "spicier tamales". However, the video spread everywhere.

The frog suit was not too unusual for the city, known for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that embrace the unusual – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and unique parades. Its creed is "Embrace the Strange."

This symbol even played a role in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and the city, which argued the use of troops overstepped authority.

While a judge decided in October that the administration was within its rights to deploy troops, a dissenting judge wrote, mentioning the protesters' "known tendency for using unusual attire while voicing dissent."

"Some might view the majority's ruling, which accepts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as merely absurd," Judge Susan Graber wrote. "Yet the outcome has serious implications."

The order was "permanently" blocked just a month later, and personnel have reportedly departed the area.

But by then, the amphibian costume had transformed into a powerful anti-administration symbol for the left.

This symbol was spotted nationwide at No Kings protests recently. Frogs appeared – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in small towns and big international cities abroad.

The inflatable suit was backordered on online retailers, and became more expensive.

Shaping the Visual Story

What connects both frogs together – lies in the relationship between the silly, innocent image and a deeper political meaning. This concept is "tactical frivolity."

This approach rests on what Mr Bogad calls the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" display that calls attention to your ideas without directly articulating them. This is the unusual prop you wear, or the symbol circulated.

The professor is an analyst on this topic and an experienced participant. He's written a book on the subject, and taught workshops internationally.

"One can look 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 theory of such tactics is three-fold, he explains.

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