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This revolution may not be televised, but it could have amphibious toes and large eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

While rallies opposing the government carry on in US cities, participants have embraced the spirit of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've offered salsa lessons, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, while officers look on.

Blending humour and politics – an approach researchers refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. But it has become a hallmark of protests in the United States in this period, used by various groups.

One particular emblem has risen to become particularly salient – the frog. It started when recordings of an encounter between a protester in an inflatable frog and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, went viral. And it has since spread to protests nationwide.

"There is much happening with that little inflatable frog," notes a professor, who teaches at UC Davis and an academic who focuses on political performance.

From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to talk about protests and frogs without addressing Pepe, a web comic frog adopted by far-right groups throughout an election cycle.

When this image initially spread online, it was used to express specific feelings. Afterwards, it was utilized to show support for a political figure, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure himself, showing Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in digital spaces in offensive ways, as a hate group member. Users traded "rare Pepes" and set up cryptocurrency using its likeness. Its famous line, "that feels good", was deployed a shared phrase.

Yet Pepe didn't start out as a political symbol.

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

The frog first appeared in an online comic in 2005 – apolitical and best known for a particular bathroom habit. In 'Feels Good Man', which follows Mr Furie's efforts to wrest back control of his creation, he stated the character came from his time with friends and roommates.

As he started out, 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 the internet, the creator attempted to distance himself from the frog, including ending its life in a final panel.

Yet the frog persisted.

"This demonstrates the lack of control over imagery," explains the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be repurposed."

Until recently, the notoriety of Pepe resulted in frogs were largely associated with the right. A transformation occurred recently, when a viral moment between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

The moment came just days after a decision to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was called "a warzone". Demonstrators began to gather in droves on a single block, near an immigration enforcement facility.

The situation was tense and a officer used a chemical agent at the individual, directing it into the opening of the inflatable suit.

The protester, Seth Todd, responded with a joke, remarking it tasted like "spicier tamales". Yet the footage became a sensation.

The frog suit was not too unusual for the city, famous for its quirky culture and left-wing protests that revel in the ridiculous – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. Its creed is "Keep Portland Weird."

The frog even played a role in a lawsuit between the administration and Portland, which contended the deployment overstepped authority.

While a ruling was issued that month that the president had the right to send personnel, a minority opinion disagreed, noting in her opinion the protesters' "well-known penchant for wearing chicken suits when expressing opposition."

"Observers may be tempted this decision, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as merely absurd," the dissenting judge stated. "But today's decision goes beyond absurdity."

The action was halted by courts subsequently, and troops have reportedly departed the area.

However, by that time, the frog had transformed into a powerful symbol of resistance for the left.

This symbol was seen across the country at anti-authoritarian protests recently. Amphibian costumes were present – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in rural communities and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

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

Controlling the Optics

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

The tactic rests on what the professor terms a "disarming display" – usually humorous, it acts as a "appealing and non-threatening" act that calls attention to a cause without needing directly articulating them. It's the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol circulated.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and an experienced participant. He's written a text called 'Tactical Performance', and led seminars internationally.

"One can look back to historical periods – under oppressive regimes, they use absurdity to speak the truth indirectly and while maintaining a layer of protection."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, he explains.

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