Inflatables, rainbow crosswalks, flooding snitch lines — creative action was off the charts in 2025

This article Inflatables, rainbow crosswalks, flooding snitch lines — creative action was off the charts in 2025 was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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This article is co-published with Nonviolence News.

The rise of authoritarianism in the United States had devastating consequences in 2025. It was a year of unrelenting injustice, maddening and terrifying at once. Amidst the cycles of heartbreak and hope, resistance surged to unprecedented levels. Along with mass demonstrations and powerful boycotts, there were countless acts of creative protest that rekindled spirits, made us laugh out loud, and kept us rising up. 

In nonviolent struggle, creativity is an enduring superpower — and we’ve seen it working powerfully for us in 2025. It broke through the stranglehold of fear. It helped us scrape past defeat by the seat of our pants. It tapped into the strategic potential of nonviolent struggle. It gave us a superpower at a time when power seems stacked against us. From Jan. 20 onward, unexpected, unusual and off-the-wall actions kept our movements nimble and courageous. 

Here’s a blow-by-blow of how creativity served us well as millions of people moved into action.

Rev. Budde calls for compassion

In the chilling first moments of Trump’s inauguration, the first person to speak out was Rev. Mariann Budde. During the inauguration mass — with tech billionaires in the front row and hundreds of appalling and destructive executive orders waiting on the Resolute Desk — Rev. Budde invoked compassion, imploring Trump to have mercy for migrants, refugees, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. This act of defiance stood in stark contrast to the sycophancy and frightened silence that gripped the nation at the time. Trump’s response was petulant and sullen — a reaction that would become very familiar over the next 11 months of cyclical repression and resistance. 

Rev. Budde’s gentle plea set in motion the first critical wave of strategic resistance that broke through strangling fear and timid self-censorship. Her act of compassionate courage awakened similar responses in others. When thousands of hate letters were sent to Rev. Budde, people across the country rallied to support her, sending numerous letters of gratitude and support. Her action embodied a principled stance not only against the authoritarian slide, but also in the context of the deeper struggle between the politics of hate and the politics of care. 

Rev. Budde’s prayerful remarks set an example for the nation. Next, a hefty dose of humor and feisty, rebellious pranks would fracture the fear-grip people felt in the early days of the Trump administration.

Flooding snitch lines

In the first weeks of Trump’s second term, a set of prankish tactics unleashed waves of protest actions through flooding phone lines, websites and reporting systems associated with objectionable policies. The approach drew on previous campaigns, like crashing Kellogg’s scab-hiring website with fake applications or overloading an anti-trans Missouri tip site with “Bee Movie” script excerpts and fanfiction. A satirical post went viral saying that the ICE hotline was suspended after 90 percent of the calls reported Elon Musk. Originally fictional, the viral post inspired people to call in false reports in one of the first pushbacks against the announcement of massive ICE raids. When DOGE set up a hiring portal to expand its “chainsaw” cuts to public services, people sent in applications from Ebenezer Scrooge, Cruella de Vil, the Grinch, Hitler and Mussolini. When the administration created an inbox for snitching on federal workers who upheld DEI policies, people flooded it with protest messages and false reports.

These tactics tapped into popular fury, offered a relatively safe method of protesting at a time when people were uncertain about attending street protests, and sometimes crashed websites and tip lines. The humorous pranksterism cut through fear and immobilization. It set the stage for riskier, more impactful acts of defiance and resistance to come. 

5 things emails 

As online protest comments rose and the 50501 protests on Feb. 5 demonstrated that the U.S. tradition of protest was alive and well, a message went out to federal workers, institutions and political leaders: do not comply in advance. 

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We’re seeing the beginnings of mass noncompliance

One of the early forms of mass noncompliance came in response to the obnoxious “5 Things You Did This Week” emails that Elon Musk required from every federal worker. Amidst Musk’s  cuts to federal spending, firing of federal workers, illegal seizures of databases and takeovers of institutions, the requirement was widely seen as an offensive overreach. Over a million federal workers refused to comply. Numerous agency heads — both Trump appointees and ones who were not — instructed their staff not to reply. Unions echoed the call for widespread resistance. Among those who responded, many sent in snarky or mocking responses. The White House Press Secretary claimed that around 1 million federal workers did send in a reply, which indicates that more than 50 percent of the 2.4 million non-military federal employees flat out refused to obey the order even when threatened with losing their jobs. Ultimately, Musk and the Office of Personnel Management conceded and scrapped the requirement.

More than a protest, this action was a direct rejection of Trump and Musk’s tyranny through DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. It indicated that federal workers would not be in lock-step with the administration — a sentiment their fellow Americans were increasingly making loud and clear.

Acts of defiance

From booing Trump at football games to flipping off Trump Tower, people found numerous ways to voice their dissent, displeasure and defiance. Each time someone spoke up, it emboldened others to take a visible stand, too. 

These protest actions were widely creative and tactically diverse. Upside down flags — a symbol of a nation in distress — appeared across the country, including from the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Statues mysteriously popped up overnight on the National Mall showing Trump and Epstein as hand-holding besties or honoring “dictator-approved” figures like Putin. Singer Nezza belted out the national anthem in Spanish in solidarity with immigrants as federal agents swarmed over Los Angeles. When Trump tried to co-opt the Army’s 250th anniversary military parade for a birthday spectacle, the soldiers trudged sullenly through the streets. The rest of D.C. boycotted the event, holding a D.C. Joy Day in contrast. Rock ‘n Roll legend Bruce Springsteen made a series of blistering speeches against authoritarianism during his international concerts. 

Acts of defiance like these tap into our inner rebels, sparking courage and sometimes even laughter. This kind of defiance keeps people’s spirits up and cuts through the illusion of the authoritarian’s invincibility.

And Canada (of all places) showed the world just how powerful a feisty rebellion can be.

Oh Canada! 

In an attack that stunned everyone, Trump tried to pummel Canada with a set of crushing tariffs and insulting comments about becoming the 51st state. To the surprise of many, Canada ditched its notorious politeness and took a page out of its hockey teams’ “elbows up” fighting spirit. A rapid and widespread boycott of U.S. goods was launched. People cancelled their vacation rentals in the U.S., and border crossings dropped by close to 20 percent. Hats and T-shirts saying “Canada is not for sale” went viral. An anthem singer changed the lyrics of “O Canada” into a firm statement of sovereignty. Trump’s endorsement of right-wing Pierre Poilievre for prime minister turned into a death knell at the polls. When a Canada goose fended off a bald eagle, the photos and video circulated widely. Another iconic moment unfolded when the Canadian national hockey team beat the United States … and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau captured popular sentiment in his post: “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.” 

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Trump’s tariffs have ignited a wave of economic defiance in Canada

Canada’s fierce resistance to the U.S. ignited over national self-respect, yet it had broader international impacts. Seeing Canadians refuse to be cowed into submission galvanized others around the globe, both everyday people and political leaders. South Africa suspended U.S. businesses in its territories and canceled mineral exports to the U.S. amidst Trump’s threats and bullying. After Canada’s right-wing leader Doug Ford said he would cancel Ontario’s StarLink contracts, a Mexican telecommunications industry giant and billionaire, Carlos Slim, canceled his contracts with Musk, effectively denying StarLink access to 25 countries.

Economic resistance also surged within the United States, becoming one of the most powerful and effective branches of the anti-authoritarian struggle. 

Boycotts and economic resistance

While the historic turnout of 7 million people at the No Kings Protests on Oct. 18 offered a high-visibility glimpse of the movement’s strength, the most powerful strategic engine of the anti-authoritarian movement has been its economic resistance. 

Using protests outside showrooms and humorous trolling of cybercar owners, Tesla Takedown contributed to a crash in sales at Musk’s business, lowering net income by 71 percent, costing the company over $2 billion and 1 million electric vehicle sales. The global campaign helped to pressure Musk into leaving DOGE on schedule instead of extending his stay as he had previously hinted. 

Other economic campaigns had powerful impacts, too. Target Fast made it costly to reverse DEI policies and the business sector noticed. Shareholders of 30 companies worth $13 trillion voted overwhelmingly to defeat a slew of anti-DEI proposals during the 2025 proxy season. Close to 1.5 million people cancelled their Disney+ subscriptions to defend free speech and reverse the suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel. Amidst backlash over deportation flights, Avelo Airlines was forced to close its West Coast hubs as the boycott against them picked up steam.

In a struggle that holds stark dividing lines between the billionaires and the rest of us, economic resistance holds strong potential in the coming year. There’s an easily graspable, tit-for-tat logic to the boycotts: “You come after us, we’ll come after you.” It resonates deeply with people’s sense of power, the need for consequences for abusive behavior and people’s intuitive understanding of what’s happening. After all, this isn’t just an authoritarian slide. It’s a billionaire-backed, corrupt authoritarian regime that rewards its wealthy loyalists while imposing economic hardship on everyone else. 

Economic resistance falls under a certain section (noncooperation) of the immense toolbox of nonviolent action that includes over 300 methods of waging struggle in four broad categories: protest, noncooperation, intervention and building alternative systems. Individuals or groups of people engaging in acts of noncooperation organize to withdraw their participation from a system. To encourage more people to use tools like boycotts, strikes, and refusing to obey orders, a group called Freedom Trainers partnered with Indivisible to train over 130,000 people in strategic noncooperation. This helped shift activists to engage in tactics beyond marches, rallies and street demonstrations. Increasingly, they found ways to withhold support, refuse to obey and resist unjust policies. 

Making injustice visible

One of the crucial tasks of any movement is to render the invisible visible. If activists can make the injustices clear in memorable, galvanizing ways, they can bring participants into their campaign and start to sway decision-makers to their side. Whether this looks like older student debt holders holding a knit-in for debt cancellation in rocking chairs or people suffering from long Covid writing testimonials on pillowcases, these dramatic actions bring the issues out of the shadows with symbolism that tugs at heartstrings.

At the Brooklyn Public Library, for example, 20 activists held a banned words protest with signs displaying the words banned from government documents by the Trump administration, including LGBTQ, BIPOC, disability, activists and hundreds more. In the struggle against the immigration crackdown, activists have used light projections on detention centers to show the faces of community members snatched off the streets. Some of the projections also included pictures of Jesus Christ, others displayed the message: “We’re not Nazis. We’re just following orders.” 

As Trump cracked down on “negative history” and tried to erase hard truths about genocide, colonization, racism, patriarchy and climate issues, people rallied to preserve and protect the truth, especially at national parks. When the government tried to get people to report displays of “negative history,” NPS employees and supporters instead sent in socially-just, historically truthful, fact-checked updates to any inaccurate or misleading plaques they spotted. They also posted comments in support of the national parks and employees. On top of that, the “Save Our Signs” Preservation Project set up a publicly-sourced archive of over 10,000 historical and educational placards to preserve them ahead of potential removal. 

One of the most starkly stunning visibility actions has been the “Signs of Fascism” brigades. Dressed in funeral black, groups of 10-20 walk in a single-file line through public spaces carrying black signs with white lettering. Each displays an indicator that the U.S. is sliding into fascism, including “military used on civilians,” “manipulating history,” “voter suppression,” “ignoring due process” and “violating the constitution.” Each time they take action, they raise awareness among the general public that what’s happening is not normal. They bring together the many grievances and often remind onlookers that fascism is un-American. 

Rainbow crosswalks

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered officials to paint over the rainbow-colored crosswalk that commemorated the Pulse Night Club Massacre in Orlando, Florida, the LGBTQ+ community took action. Showing up on the heels of the Florida Department of Transportation, they repainted crosswalks, not just once, but several times. The tactic spread to other cities in Florida, including Fort Lauderdale where activists also left sidewalk chalk messages that read “Pulse — you will not erase us.” Ultimately, Fort Lauderdale officials voted to keep their rainbow crosswalks. Across the state, people drew chalk rainbows around potholes to indicate places FDOT could do something useful. On Halloween, a group of friends wore colored costumes and laid down in the Orlando crosswalk to recreate the rainbow. To make sure visible symbols of support for the queer community did not vanish entirely, a church painted their front steps in rainbow colors and a restaurant owner turned 49 parking spots into art spaces in support of LGBTQ+ rights. 

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These crosswalks may be symbolic, but erasing celebration of LGBTQ+ people from the public eye is a dehumanizing strategy that can be a precursor to discriminatory policies and further violence. It sends a message that our cities don’t honor queerness, nor will they protect LGBTQ+ people from harm. It’s a shift into the monochromatic bleakness of heteronormativity — a bleakness that activists in Hungary made visible earlier this year when 10,000 people gathered for a mocking “Gray Pride” rally. Protesting a ban on Pride marches, they wore gray clothes and waved gray flags, stripping the color from the world to show the depressing reality of these policies, especially paired with authoritarianism. The monochromatic protest was strange and shocking — and a perfect symbolic embodiment of the issue.

If signs and symbols didn’t matter, authoritarians wouldn’t strive so desperately to erase history, ban books, remove flags, paint over crosswalks, and suppress any visible sign of diversity. 

Everyone Is Welcome Here

We saw a grotesque example of this heartlessness on display in Idaho when a MAGA-supporting school board forced an elementary school teacher Sarah Inama to take down a banner that simply read: “Everyone Is Welcome Here.” Illustrated with the eagerly-raised hands of multiracial students, the banner seemed like a kind message that affirms the dignity of all children. But Idaho school officials claimed it was a political message and forced Inama to remove it from her classroom. 

After a soul-searching night, she put it back up in an act of civil disobedience and social conscience. The students rallied in support, wearing bracelets with the message. When a local print shop was recruited to make T-shirts, they received a whopping 40,000 orders in a few short weeks. Crews of volunteers came together to help fulfill them. Meanwhile, students, teachers, and parents held chalk-ins on the sidewalks in front of several local schools, reaffirming their support for diversity and inclusivity. School officials hosed the heartwarming chalk drawings away. 

The Idaho school officials’ rejection of “Everyone Is Welcome Here” ultimately pressured Inama to change schools. But the widespread support in the community and across the country rallied tens of thousands of people to stand up for basic values of kindness, respect and dignity. 

This is an example of the Aikido effect (sometimes called backfire effect), where activists make an attempt at repression backfire so hard that the opposition wishes they hadn’t meddled with the issue in the first place. This backfire effect took on hilarious proportions when the high court of the United Kingdom walked right into a Banksy art trap. Banksy had put up an image of a judge using a gavel to beat a helpless protester on the walls of the Royal Courts of Justice. The courts swiftly ordered guards to paint over it — and the photos of the censorship were so inflaming that they became even more notorious than the original Banksy art. The fiasco caught global attention because it so perfectly embodied the challenges protesters have faced under increasing censorship and repression. 

When it comes to the Aikido effect, however, nowhere was this displayed better than in a creative response to ICE in Portland, Oregon. 

Inflatable frog

The Portland inflatable frog became one of the most enduring — and endearing — icons of resistance in 2025. Appearing just as Trump was misinterpreting Fox News reruns of old footage as an indication that “war-ravaged Portland” needed National Guards to protect it, a protester in an inflatable frog suit showed up at the local ICE facility protests. Somewhat predictably, the ICE agents pepper sprayed the frog — a reaction so ridiculously unwarranted that it grabbed headlines nationwide and demonstrated that ICE is the actual violent threat. The inflatable frog leaped into an iconic symbol that took the hot air out of the administration’s bluster, making it harder and harder for them to justify their use of armed federal agents against protesters wearing ridiculous costumes. When Portland’s trademark “weirdness” brought out rollerblading protesters, jazzercise and salsa dance classes, yoga groups and musicians, the humorous scene convinced judges and the general public that there was no need to send troops to Portland. 

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We’re entering a new phase of the resistance

Portland’s inflatable frog protester set off a cascade of other inflatable costumes appearing in cities nationwide, including dinosaurs, unicorns and chickens. As the inflatables caught on, their charming qualities carried the resistance movement through a dangerous juncture. The murder of Charlie Kirk had begun to snowball into an Antifa witch hunt that the administration was trying to use to crack down on the entire left. With vague accusations of terrorism against a group that isn’t a group and doesn’t technically exist, the administration was well-poised to use misinformation to repress “violent” protesters. Instead, they got inflatable frogs dancing in the streets. 

As the nation headed toward the Oct. 18 No Kings protests, Republicans tried to dismiss them as “Hate America Rallies,” a line that fizzled out as the U.S.’ largest single-day protest in history brought 7 million people into the streets, many of them in cheerful, colorful inflatable costumes. 

It was a classic Aikido effect in which disciplined and creative nonviolence made the violent rhetoric, threat of repression and actual violence by the administration look unfounded and even unhinged. The puffy green frogs made it possible to disprove the lies and uphold the truth: We’re just everyday people who want to live in a democracy. 

Portland’s frog was just one of the many iconic, unexpected resistance moments that won hearts and minds as the National Guard and federal agents swarmed across U.S. cities. Each city responded with local flair, perhaps making Americans fall in love with their country in a whole new way.

Whistles and rapid response ICE resistance

As ICE raids crashed down in cities nationwide, locals brought their signature styles to the resistance. New Yorkers got rude and confrontational. Free D.C. made the case for statehood and autonomy. Los Angeles rallied around the 10 percent of the city’s populace who are undocumented. Chicago turned on its fierce, cultural history of organizing. San Francisco promised such ferocious resistance that ICE backed out of their plans. Memphis sued and won. Charlotte ran ICE out of town in 10 days with what was dubbed “bless your heart” resistance. 

At the same time, organizers shared strategies, preparing each city — from Los Angeles and D.C., to Chicago and Charlotte — to be better organized to resist. Know Your Rights trainings empowered tens of thousands of people to thwart ICE or document abuses. Mutual aid networks, often coordinated by faith groups, provided groceries, medical care and child care for targeted migrant communities. Lawyers won injunctions against National Guard deployment faster and faster. City governments and state attorney generals set up reporting websites for cataloging illegal or abusive behaviors. Municipal governments banned ICE from city property. 

Door-to-door canvassing with Signs of Solidarity trained business owners in how to create safe spaces for migrants. Teachers unions from Los Angeles to Chicago coordinated lookouts, safety corridors and protective accompaniment for migrant families and students. Cyclists and community members bought out tamale vendors’ stock so they can go home early and stay safe. Groups handed out thousands of whistles to alert people to the presence of federal agents, rally a crowd and raise a ruckus until the agents left the neighborhood. 
One creative action that brought a smile to tens of thousands of people as the video went viral on social media happened in Washington, D.C. Someone followed federal agents around blaring the Star Wars Imperial March on loud speakers. Storm troopers deserve a soundtrack, after all.

And so much more

There are many more examples of creative nonviolent actions that could be mentioned. Satire was in fine form throughout 2025, despite having difficulties keeping up with the ludicrous, unbelievable nonsense coming from politicians. California Gov. Gavin Newsom trolled Trump by mimicking the president’s social media style. The Onion — known for its “laugh until you cry” satire — took out a full page ad in The New York Times calling on Congress to do nothing. In France, a Dutch artist put up a mural depicting the Statue of Liberty covering her face in shame over the U.S.’ cruel immigration policies. The N.I.C.E. Agents in Canada ripped the U.S. ICE’s heartless policies by contrasting them with basic decency. 

The surge in creativity was not confined to the U.S. Amidst immense Gen Z uprisings in Kenya, Nepal, Morocco, Mozambique and beyond, humor and social memes mobilized millions of people to take action against authoritarians, corruption and economic hardship. The arrest of Istanbul’s mayor sparked carnivalesque protests. 

As we close out a year of unprecedented nonviolent resistance in the United States, the key takeaway is that irresistible creativity bolsters our hearts, emboldens our spirits, breaks through fear, dispels lies, makes the administration’s violence backfire on them and gives us a wildly diverse strategic power that can help us win. May 2026 deliver even more creative action as we deepen, broaden and intensify our efforts for social justice, democracy and change.

This article Inflatables, rainbow crosswalks, flooding snitch lines — creative action was off the charts in 2025 was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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Source: https://wagingnonviolence.org/2025/12/creative-action-2025/