The Portland Chicken

The Portland Chicken Has a Degree in Game Theory

The Power of Humor, and Resistance Actions as “Coordination Games”

“I think, at some point, I just I tied my own fate into that of the movement…The place this is going to go is such a departure from the world I thought I would have as a kid, and I would much rather do anything that I can to prevent that world from happening rather than just sit around selfishly and do nothing.”

This heartfelt statement by Jack Dickinson, better known as the Portland Chicken, is just what we need as the October 18 No Kings protests approach in America. It reminds us that our choices today shape the future we will have and that anyone can take actions that model their values and encourage others to do the same.

The cartoon characters use visual excitement to draw people of all ages into the dramatic events unfolding, and their presence underlines the absurdity of the state’s claims that cities are overrun by terrorists, jihadis, and leftist revolutionaries and require a militarized response.

The cartoon characters also provide a repertoire of counter-images that can inspire others to stand up, speak out, and be present as more people are silenced and disappear. The sight of a giant frog confronting heavily armed agents, the joyful dance scenes, and flowers being paraded in front of ICE masked agents, all disrupt government propaganda about who we are, why we protest, and what our communities are like.

“What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid. It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as ‘war-torn,’ it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [Secretary] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.”