LOL! Must have been a slippery curb
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Indeed, as in ‘Back in the day’, a miscreant aboard ship that had roaming hands or sticky fingers, may experience ‘falling up a ladder’ on the way to a ‘crew assisted shower’ prior meeting the Captain, with the answer “SIR! he fell up the ladder while we were escorting him to the MAA Office” when questioned about the obvious bruises.
First time offenders usually didn’t get ‘phase 2’ and, as a result, there weren’t a whole lot of 2nd offenders, just the real hard core— And by the time ‘they’ got to the Captain, the subject was pretty much of a lost cause.
Like it or not, Deck Plate Justice had its place at Sea, along with such grand traditions (long since eradicated) as “Crossing the Equator”, attaining the rank of Chief Petty Officer, etc etc .....
“Like it or not, Deck Plate Justice had its place at Sea...”
As it had to be. There weren’t policemen/deputies out there, and flying them in was certainly prohibitive, both in time and in money. Just like “the law of the old west”, it was/is necessary under the circumstances. In the old west, law enforcement was often days away. This on the scene justice is often the most effective deterrent to the perpetrator and to others who were considering doing the same thing. Not sure but what some of that wouldn’t be a good thing today.