Sex Pistols were the manufactured boy band of punk, not really the place to look for what punk was about. For most punk was an escape from a depressing time, a community of like minded people and music which gave an output for built up frustration and anger.
Punk existed in New York quite a long time before it started in London. The name punk was first used in a fanzine in NY. The London scene definitely does not represent the world of punk.