update: turns out you actually have to turn on the fixup trap
$ echo 2 | sudo tee /proc/cpu/alignment 3 $ jsc >>> '-ab'.match(/ab/) ab https://wiki.debian.org/ArmEabiFixes#word_accesses_must_be_aligned_to_a_multiple_of_their_size Though this wiki page recommends, "you cannot rely on this being enabled on users' machines."