The Journey of Conservative Meme to Anti-ICE Emblem: This Unexpected Story of the Amphibian

The protest movement may not be televised, though it may feature amphibious toes and protruding eyes.

It also might feature the horn of a unicorn or the plumage of a chicken.

As demonstrations opposing the government carry on in American cities, participants are utilizing the spirit of a community costume parade. They've offered dance instruction, handed out snacks, and ridden unicycles, while officers look on.

Mixing levity and political action – an approach researchers refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. But it has become a defining feature of protests in the United States in the current era, adopted by both left and right.

One particular emblem has emerged as particularly salient – the frog. It started after a video of an encounter between a protester in an amphibian costume and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, went viral. It subsequently appeared to protests throughout the United States.

"There's a lot going on with that little inflatable frog," says a professor, a professor at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in performance art.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's challenging to discuss protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog adopted by far-right groups throughout a previous presidential campaign.

Initially, when this image initially spread on the internet, it was used to convey specific feelings. Afterwards, it was utilized to express backing for a political figure, even one notable meme shared by that figure personally, showing the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in certain internet forums in darker contexts, as a historical dictator. Participants traded "unique frog images" and established digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was deployed a coded signal.

However its beginnings were not this divisive.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has stated about his unhappiness for its co-option. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

Pepe debuted in comic strips in the mid-2000s – non-political and best known for a quirky behavior. In 'Feels Good Man', which follows Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his work, he explained his drawing came from his experiences with friends and roommates.

As he started out, Mr Furie experimented with sharing his art to early internet platforms, where other users began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As its popularity grew into fringe areas of the internet, the creator sought to reject his creation, even killing him off in a comic strip.

However, its legacy continued.

"This demonstrates the lack of control over icons," states the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be reclaimed."

Previously, the association of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery were predominantly linked to conservative politics. This shifted in early October, when a viral moment between an activist dressed in an inflatable frog costume and an immigration officer in Portland, Oregon captured global attention.

The moment followed a decision to deploy the National Guard to the city, which was described as "a warzone". Protesters began to assemble in large numbers outside a facility, near a federal building.

Tensions were high and an immigration officer sprayed irritant at a protester, targeting the air intake fan of the puffy frog costume.

The individual, the man in the costume, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "something milder". However, the video became a sensation.

The costume was somewhat typical for the city, known for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that delight in the absurd – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Embrace the Strange."

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

Although a ruling was issued in October that the president had the right to deploy troops, a dissenting judge wrote, mentioning the protesters' "well-known penchant for using unusual attire when expressing opposition."

"Some might view the majority's ruling, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as merely absurd," she wrote. "However, this ruling goes beyond absurdity."

The deployment was halted by courts just a month later, and personnel have reportedly departed the area.

Yet already, the frog had become a significant protest icon for progressive movements.

The costume appeared nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests recently. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – 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.

Shaping the Optics

What connects Pepe and the protest frog – is the dynamic between the silly, innocent image and underlying political significance. This concept is "tactical frivolity."

This approach relies on what the professor calls a "disarming display" – usually humorous, it's a "disarming and charming" performance that highlights your ideas without obviously explaining them. It's the silly outfit used, or the symbol circulated.

The professor is an analyst in the subject and an experienced participant. He's written a text called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops around the world.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to express dissent indirectly and while maintaining plausible deniability."

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

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