Let me start by saying I'm a big nerd. When I was a teenager, I read every Star Wars book I could get my hands on. At my last job, I won a campus-wide Star Wars trivia contest. I've been watching Star Wars (less so now) since as far back as I can remember.
So, when Disney bought Star Wars, as well as some other less appreciated assets of LucasFilm, my nerd sense tingled. I wondered what they'd do to this part of my upbringing.
Then I realized a few things.
1. They couldn't do much worse than what George Lucas was doing to it.
2. They didn't ruin the Muppets, something I like much more than Star Wars.
3. In the grand scope of things, it doesn't matter. While Disney's has made some stinkers, like Alice in Tim Burton-land and Oz the Great and Mysogynistic, they have made some gems. I did enjoy The Muppets, but haven't yet had a chance to see Most Wanted. However, let's assume Disney drops the ball with Star Wars VII. Does that take away from our enjoyment of all that came before?
So, when Disney announced their doing away with the EU (that's not the European Union, but rather something more important to nerds: the Star Wars extended universe), nerd rage was on a rise.
None of it came from me, though. And I'll tell you why it shouldn't be a big deal.
First off, Disney isn't destroying or obliterating these library of books. Worst case, they'll become collectors items if they're not republished. Whether or not they're canon (they never really were) doesn't change the fact that they exist.
Second, it's fiction. Really. They're not real people. When they killed off Chewbacca, people freaked. He's a fictional fuzzball. He never existed, and therefore never can die.
Besides, most nerds so caught up with canon have written something called fan fiction. For those who haven't peeked below that rock, fan fiction are stories set in the "universe" of a (usually) that tell stories not told, or told differently, by the original source.
The only difference between someone like Kevin J Anderson and Mary Sue Skywalker is that KJA got paid to do it.
So, when you consider the fact that it's fiction, the only hindrance to the story as a whole being any good is really your imagination. It doesn't matter if one official story tells it one way, it's all in how you interpret the tale.
Granted, this won't stop flame wars over whether or not Dumbledore's gay, but it's something you can carry around on the inside.
At this point, the only thing keeping the canon alive is the fact that we nerds need a common reference when discussing a particular work or body of works. Let's try something else, as a house is only as strong as it's foundation, and the canon as an idea is not that strong of a foundation.
I believe that we nerds should reference our sources when making arguments regarding fictional characters and events. And the rest of the nerds should respect that.
Think of it like arguing religion with someone who has a different Holy Book than you. After all, the word "canon" comes from religion, and the scope of a canon only extends to that subset of that religion.
Ultimately, though, much like with religions, if you find enough like minded people, you can form a group whose canon includes something not recognized by the "official" canon. There, you've started something new, something we've been doing for ages already.
Let me know what you think.
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