i will have to agree with you, negative. the ramones, although acreditted for beginning the punk movement in america, were not necessarily punk. punk itself, as a movement, has metamorphosized from its original intent, both in england and america. i cannot speak too much about english punk, as i've only known a few and that was when i was there (which was many moons ago).

english punk and american punk, i believe, started for two different reasons. english punk started because of the poor socio-economic conditions. americans in a similar condition felt akin to the music and thus it spread here.

there have been many offshoots of the punk movement, as well as many variations thereof. punk has given birth to:
ska (a marriage of reggae and punk) which has also had many generations. (i believe were on the third? generation of ska. 1st gen, out of jamaica with the skatalites, desmond dekker. 2nd wave out of england, with the specials, higsons and america, with op ivy. 3rd generation (pop ska) out of america, with likes of bosstones, reel big fish. some bands giving tribute to the 1st generation, such as the slackers.
thrash: fast tempo, angry, gutteral voice: such as cannibal corpse, avail, black flag at some points in their careers, etc.
skatepunk: decendents, oh geez, i cant think of them now.
i have to give credit to bad brains, a group from the 80s, and i believe the first black punk band to make it. (if i'm wrong, please let me know!)

great post, negative!

edit: i wanted to throw in my link for punk lyrics. just an offer:
http://www.punkbands.com/lyrics/main.htm