If you could put yourself into an anime.

I mean.. Pretty much everyone's a crook in Roanapur.. As long as you don't piss off Revy you should be able to kill whoever you want :p

Within Japan, anime (that's the plural form as well, by the way) refers to all animation regardless of origin. Internationally, however, the term is used specifically to refer to Japanese animation. So unless you or TinyPurple are in Japan at the moment, or were born and raised in Japan, I'm pretty sure you've no reason to call The Simpsons anime. :)

Given the distinct style and approach of Japanese animation, it makes pretty strong sense to use a distinct term to refer to it as separate from other forms of animation, especially given how many individuals in the world specifically like or dislike anime as it differs from more typical Western animation forms.
The real questionable element comes in with shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is done in Japanese animation styles, based within various Asian mythologies and concepts, accented with Native American influences, and presented by way of American sensibilities. While that specific example is easy to write off as being unique, it does bring up the question of if Anime should refer to animations which come out of Japan (which really offers no value outside of passing economic curiosity, and thus makes the separation of terminology rather less useful- but is currently the more commonly accepted point of distinction), or if it should refer to shows done in Japanese animation styles or to Japanese story-telling sensibilities.

Of course, that's not a consideration with The Simpsons either way- so, it's simple enough to agree that, for clarity's sake, the show shouldn't be referred to as Anime in any situation where that attribution would provide confusion as to what is being discussed. Rather than worry about the various nuances at play, I think that makes for a more straightforward method of approaching the matter. :)

Eh I prefer the first one because it skewers some ridiculous nonsense about Japanese erm...culture:P

Haven't read that in a while. The memories.