AboutBut The People Are Retarded is a memorable quote and catchphrase said by controversial new religious movement leader and Indian philosopher Rajneesh Osho in a viral video about democracy uploaded to YouTube in early 2021. Over the following years, Osho's statement, particularly his unexpected usage of the slang term "retarded," became a meme as it was used as a reaction image and image macro around the internet, usually to call something or someone stupid, as well as to mock various things. But the people are Retarded. On September 15th, 2021, YouTuber Kazwire posted the isolated clip of the "but the people are retarded" quote under the title "…but the people are," receiving over 20 million views, 939,000 likes and 40,800 comments in roughly four years. On February 25th, 2024, Tenor user joshmoxey uploaded a GIF variant of the meme, notably using the algospeak term "regarded," under the title "Osho Democracy GIF."