The revolution will not be televised, but it might have webbed feet and bulging eyes.
It also might have a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.
As protests against the Trump administration continue in US cities, demonstrators are adopting the energy of a community costume parade or block party. They've taught salsa lessons, handed out snacks, and ridden unicycles, as armed law enforcement look on.
Mixing humour and politics - a tactic social scientists call tactical frivolity - is not new. But it has become a defining feature of American protest in the Trump era, embraced by both left and right.
One symbol that has emerged as particularly salient is the frog. It began when video footage of a confrontation between a man in a frog suit and immigration enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon, went viral, spreading to protests across the country.
There's a lot going on with that little inflatable frog, says LM Bogad, a professor at UC Davis.
From Pepe to Portland
It's hard to talk about protests and frogs without discussing Pepe, a cartoon character embraced by far-right groups during Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Initially utilized to express emotions, Pepe became entangled in darker contexts as factions traded rare Pepes and depicted him in association with extremist ideologies. His creator, Matt Furie, expressed discontent over this transformation.
However, a viral event on October 2, 2020, changed the narrative. In Portland, a protester dressed as a frog faced off against an immigration officer, embodying a humorous yet impactful form of protest. This incident, far from conventional, demonstrated tactical frivolity's effectiveness as a vehicle for political expression.
The confrontation attracted national attention and became a hallmark of Portland's quirky protest culture, ultimately birthing a movement that would spread to international cities and inspire both costumes and political engagement.
Controlling the Optics
Prof. Bogad emphasizes that the interplay between humor and political meaning strengthens visibility while imbuing symbolism with deeper significance. As protesters don playful costumes, they effectively resist the portrayal of dissenters as merely a violent mob.
Operation Inflation, formed by Portland residents, collects inflatable costumes for protesters, aimed at reshaping narratives around protests through humor and absurdity. Today, the frog has become an unlikely emblem for the left, suggesting a reclamation and transformation of a once-dubious symbol into one of community and resistance.
Ultimately, frogs have transitioned from the far-right's clutches to symbols of protest, embodying the spirited creativity of those challenging authority in a society where the stakes for dissenters have never been higher.
